Comments


  • crobar - thanks! I'm looking forward to it.

    March 25, 2010 at 8:20 p.m.

  • I was drunk during my S.A.T’s. I had two very appreciative attractive young women that I may have “met“ the night before, help me to my desk. I passed out, then woke up in the middle of the exam, scribbled some stuff on it and went back to sleep. People entering for the next testing class woke me up I dragged my butt out, was picked up by my good time buddies and continued on with my partying for another week. I scored enough to get into a Harvard preparatory school. You know, universities that are known for sending their students on too Harvard for continued study. I was drunk my whole first semester; during which I took Pre-Calculus, I passed with a 2.0. Despite this, I don’t advise it to anyone. Another guy who partied harder than me, went the whole year with a 4.0, taking pretty much the same courses.

    March 25, 2010 at 8:34 a.m.

  • Hi SM,

    I found the article interesting when I ran across and, just like you, I started wondering about other factors which could play a role. The research was done with a bunch of undergrads all below 25 if I remember correctly - although I'm going off memory and it's early in the morning. Age would be an interesting angle to examine. Also the individual differences tendencies I have make me wonder about everything from differences between gender, ethnicity and body weight to even GPA, IQ and SES as all factors which I would wonder how or if they play a part. I'm sure there'll be more to come on this front. I wonder how long before someone at a university is citing this study as rationale for partying the night before a mid-term or final?

    So you're leaving the land of night and moving into the light of day? Wonderful to hear. I know your brain and endocrine system will thank you! I hope your transition goes well.

    March 25, 2010 at 8:14 a.m.

  • On a totally unscientific note, from experience, I think it depends on how old one may be, how much is consumed, and what kind of exam one may be taking.

    Enough Southern Comfort to produce a good (okay, great) buzz before an English 101 exam at the age of 19 would likely be no big deal.

    A falling-down drunk before an Organic Chemistry or Molecular Biology exam when you're 42, well, that is quite different.

    I notice the benchmark of 0.12. Even with that being somewhat equal, people still burn off, or metabolize differently. My 0.12 hangover the next day would feel decidedly different than my 20-year old cousin's would (not that he should be drinking anyway; I MUST speak to him about that Jaegermeister).

    And speaking of nights, this week marks my last as a regular graveyard shifter. I will be *GASP* going to days next month. Your blog about cortisol levels and circadian rhythms actually reinforced my belief that decades of night shifts have done my body no favors. So I thank you, crobar, for helping make up my mind once and for all to rejoin the "LIVING" during the day and be a (somewhat) normal person.

    March 24, 2010 at 7:08 p.m.