Tie this one off

When you say you “tied one on,” you’re saying that you had too much to drink. That turn of a phrase makes about as much sense as “belting” down a drink or being “hung over.” But as fuzzy as the origins of those idioms are, one thing is clear: tying one on really does reduce your brainpower—even if all you’re doing is fastening fabric around your neck.

Recently, university researchers in Germany conducted a study published in the journal Neuroradiology that examined the negative effects of wearing a tie. They recruited 30 men (half wore ties, half didn’t) and scanned their brains with an MRI to see what that fashion accessory was doing to their blood flow. Turns out the constricting cravats cut off circulation to the brain by 7.5 percent— enough to be lethal for some men with high blood pressure and an amount guaranteed to reduce cognition and creativity in any mind. But don’t think it is a oneoff: This follows an earlier report that found wearing a necktie is associated with an increase of pressure within the eye, a characteristic of glaucoma.

Ties have been worn in one fashion or another since the Thirty Years’ War in the 1600s, when France’s King Louis XIII hired Croatian mercenaries who sported a piece of cloth around their neck as part of their uniform. Mankind has not gotten smarter about conflict management or fashion in the ensuing centuries, so clearly it may be time to off the tie!

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit sharecare.com.