Turns out drinking alcohol makes you smarter and healthier, so you’ll find me at the pub

Two studies this week have confirmed something we've been thinking for a long time, that drinking alcohol makes you smarter and has health benefits. Research has found boozing can assist with exam revision and prevents diabetes, so you might as well get to the pub ASAP.

These two things might be unrelated, but the mind and body are inextricable, so here you go.

The first of the studies, which finally confirmed to us that drinking improves memory, tested a group of people who classed themselves as "social drinkers". Researchers at the University of Exeter gave participants a series of words to remember and were then split into two groups, one allowed to drink as much as they liked, and the other not allowed to drink at all.

The next day, those who had been drinking remembered more words than those who did not drink.

Professor Celia Morgan, who led the study, said: "Our research not only showed that those who drank alcohol did better when repeating the word-learning task, but that this effect was stronger among those who drank more.

"The causes of this effect are not fully understood, but the leading explanation is that alcohol blocks the learning of new information and therefore the brain has more resources available to lay down other recently learned information into long-term memory.

"The theory is that the hippocampus – the brain area really important in memory – switches to 'consolidating' memories, transferring from short into longer-term memory."

The second study, led by Danish researchers, surveyed over 70,000 people on their alcohol intake, including how much and how often, finding people who regularly drank were least likely to have diabetes.

After five years, the group were assessed again. 859 men and 887 women had been diagnosed with type 1 or 2 diabetes in this time.

The researchers concluded moderate drinking three or four times a week reduced the risk of developing diabetes by 32 per cent for women, and 27 per cent for men, compared to those who drink no more than once a week.

Red wine proved the most effective, due to its positive control over blood sugar levels. Meanwhile, beer only had an impact on men. Drinking up to six beers a week reduces the risk of diabetes by 21 per cent in men, compared to drinking less than one. I'll drink to that.

Prof Janne Tolstrup, from the National Institute of Public Health of the University of Southern Denmark, who led the research, said: "We found that drinking frequency has an independent effect from the amount of alcohol taken.

"We can see it's a better effect to drink the alcohol in four portions rather than all at once."

The experts involved in both studies have stressed that this research should not be a "green light" to drink more than the recommended amount. But it definitely makes you feel less guilty about having a few down the pub mid-week, doesn't it?