Affect of Alcohol (Beer) on Soaring and Soaring Racing

On Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at 9:14:11 AM UTC-5, danlj wrote:
Well, ask a serious question on r.a.s., and see whether you get any serious answers.... We could start keeping score.

Seriously, when researching material in 2018 for my SSA talk, "29 Ways to Make Yourself Stupid," I discovered two interesting factoids:

1: Most studies of alcohol-related performance study things like, Can he still walk and chew gum after 12 beers?
But I found one study of the effect on alcohol on *complex cognitive performance.* This study found that a single ounce of alcohol produced a measurable loss.
Frankly, most flying does not entail complex cognitive skill any more than does riding a bicycle -- but contest flying in primarily cognitive, the flying skill a given,.

2: Late effects of alcohol. I found only 2 studies asking how long the impairment lasts after drinking.
This is important because alcohol is metabolized to aldehyde (think:formaldehyde). Alcohol has a half-life of about 2 hours; aldehyde has a half-live of about 6 hours.
Both studies brought subjects' blood alcohol levels to 0.10mg% (the legal limit in many places), then retested their performance repeatedly over time. In both studies, impaired performance was still significant at the end of the observation period: 24 hours in one and 48 hours in the other.

My take from this is that if you get drunk, you are still impaired on Day 3, and we have *no* data showing when you may actually return to normal.

I am sure that many competitors have done their own experiments, and would explain why elite athletes often defer alcohol to the end of the season or campaign.

With activities that produce anxiety, alcohol may improve performance by decreasing anxiety. But there are safer drugs for that (none of which are recommended by aviation medical experts).

On Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 2:39:11 PM UTC-6, wrote:

It actually was a serious question - I just watched Free Solo - a guy focused on a extremely technical sport. Doesn't drink.

I also have been around several people with Olympic medals - it varies but most only drink at the very end of the competition season - for the reasons of better rest/recovery, focus and no desire to relax.

I have seen a few Kawa interviews and heard him say "If I see a competitor go for a beer, I know I can beat them" - I believe he thought it was more physiological.

I live in an area with a very nice Yacht Club - has 2 huge Bars and porch to drink on over looking Jamaica Bay, in a Extremely Irish community - the only thing missing are boats. Belle Harbor Yacht Club! no one ever get sea sick.

WH