Why and what to do about hangover anxiety

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If after your next party you suffer from anxiety and blackouts, this article is for you.

Alcohol calms the brain. It acts on the receptors for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and they give a signal to slow down the activity of nerve cells. “So you become joyful and relaxed when you drink,” explains David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.

The first two drinks of alcohol bring you into a blissful state of calm, brought on by GABA. When you get to the third or fourth glass, another process kicks in, inhibiting the brain. Substances in alcohol reduce the activity of glutamate, the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain.

The less glutamate, the less anxiety, and vice versa. So when people get drunk, they don't worry about anything. In this state, it seems that life is beautiful, but do not rush to conclusions.

Soon, the body fixes the imbalance of chemicals in the brain and tries to correct the situation. This is similar to the processes that occur when you eat a lot of sweets. To normalize blood sugar levels, the body produces a lot of insulin. But as soon as the eaten sweetness is digested, the accumulated hormone causes a sharp drop in glucose levels, which makes you hungry.

The situation is similar with alcohol. The body tries to normalize the levels of GABA and glutamate.

Therefore, after heavy libations, you will find an extremely low GABA content and a jump in glutamate. This leads to anxiety. And also to cramps, which often happen with a hangover. The brain takes a couple of days to return to normal. “If you've been drinking a lot for a long time, it can take weeks to recover,” Nutt says. "And alcoholics have seen changes in GABA levels for years."

Typically, these processes are started while you are trying to sleep it off. "Drunk people fall asleep quickly," Nutt continues. - Their sleep is deeper than when sober, which explains the incidence of involuntary urination and nightmares. After about four hours, withdrawal begins. A man wakes up trembling and nervous."

However, an imbalance between GABA and glutamate is not the only problem. Alcohol also causes a small increase in norepinephrine. This hormone is involved in the fight-or-flight response. At first, it suppresses stress, but then, on the contrary, increases it. So increased anxiety is a sign of a norepinephrine rush.

Another cause of hangover anxiety is the inability to remember what you said and did while drunk.

It is caused by an abnormal glutamate level. We need it to form memories. After the sixth or seventh glass of alcohol, glutamate receptors are blocked by ethanol, so you won't remember anything in the morning.

However, hangover anxiety does not affect everyone equally. Researchers asked healthy young people how anxious they felt before and during drinking and the morning after.

According to psychopharmacologist Celia Morgan, shy people are much more anxious the next morning. Perhaps this is due to the fact that their GABA levels are initially underestimated. But it could also be a matter of psychology. Anxious people are usually more prone to obsessive reflections on the past.

Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do here other than drink less. Take a pain reliever in the morning so you don't bother your head. And in any case, do not treat hangover anxiety with a new dose of alcohol. This is the path to addiction.

Try to break out of the vicious circle.“Before drinking in company, to feel more confident, imagine a hangover the next day,” Morgan says. "If you cannot communicate without alcohol, you will be stuck in this circle, and hangover anxiety will only increase."