How taking a common painkiller could lead you to be more reckless, new research suggests

Taking a paracetamol pill may do more than soothe your ache – it could turn you into a reckless risk-taker, research suggests.

Scientists believe the dulling effect it has on pain has a similar impact on emotions and decision-making, leading those take the drug to throw caution to the wind.

Psychologists from the University of Guelph in Canada discovered paracetemol reduces the heart rate, a marker of fear, during dangerous experiences. 

‘This could have important implications for safety: if individuals on paracetamol behave less cautiously in threatening situations, they might be more likely to speed or make other unsafe choices while driving,’ they concluded.

‘It may be the drug operates by blunting emotional evaluations of painful sensations,’ they said. 

‘At the same time, the same mechanism may dull other emotions, including fear.’

Around 260 men and women were given either 1,000 mg of the drug or placebo before taking part in a frightening virtual reality plank walk at extreme heights. 

Psychologists from the University of Guelph in Canada discovered paracetemol reduces the heart rate, a marker of fear, during dangerous experiences. Pictured: File photo

Falling off the plank led to an 80-storey fall from a skyscraper roof. The goal was to walk along the plank as far as possible before returning. 

The plank became progressively more unsteady the further the people walked. If they fell, they hit the ground with a flash of white light.

Heart rates went up by an average of more than 30 beats a minute and it was 15 seconds for people to be brave enough to set foot on the plank. Two people were too afraid to do so, and three quit before they could return.

Significant differences were found between the two groups. Those on acetaminophen or paracetamol took 17 per cent less time to step onto the plank for the first time, walked 23 per cent faster when they were on it, and had a 14 per cent lower increase in heart rate, compared to those on placebo.

Just how the drug could have such an effect is unclear. Despite its popularity, the drug’s precise mechanisms of action to reduce pain are still not fully understood

Pain has both a sensory and emotional component, and the drug has been found to reduce activity in regions of the brain associated with emotion.

This emotional element has a big impact on how we perceive pain. Previous research has shown that in rare cases when people have suffered damage to these brain regions, they are untroubled by pain, even though they still feel it.