Why is there a hangover anxiety and what to do with it
Health / / December 19, 2019
Alcohol calms the brain. It affects receptors of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and they give a signal to slow down the activity of nerve cells. "So you have become happy and relaxed when you drink", - says David Nutt (David Nutt), Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.
The first two servings of alcohol puts you in a blissful state of mind induced by GABA. When you get to the third or fourth glass, it turns on another process, inhibiting the brain. Substance as a part of alcohol reduces the activity of glutamate - the major excitatory neurotransmitter of the brain.
The less glutamate, the less anxiety, and vice versa. So when people are very drunk, they are about nothing worry. In this state, it seems that life is beautiful, but do not jump to conclusions.
Soon the body detects an imbalance of chemicals in the brain and attempting to correct the situation. This is similar to the processes that occur when you eat a lot of sweets. In order to normalize blood sugar, the body produces a lot of insulin. But once eaten sweet digested accumulated hormone causes a sharp drop in glucose level from what you want to eat.
With alcohol similar situation. The organism is trying to normalize the levels of GABA and glutamate.
Therefore, after heavy libation you will find extremely low content of GABA and glutamate surge. This leads to anxiety. As well as convulsions, which often happen when a hangover. Brain needs a couple of days to get back to normal. "If you are a long time, drank a lot, the restoration may take weeks - said Nutt. - And in alcoholics changes in GABA level observed over the years. "
Normally these processes are started, while you try to sleep it off. "Drunk people quickly fall asleep- continues Nutt. - They sleep deeper than in a sober state, which explains the cases of involuntary urination and nightmares. About breaking begins in four hours. A man wakes up trembling and nervous. "
However, the imbalance of GABA and glutamate - is not the only problem. Alcohol also causes a slight increase in norepinephrine. This hormone is involved in the reaction, "hit-and-run". First, it suppresses stress, but then, on the contrary, increases it. So that increased anxiety - is a sign of the release of noradrenaline.
Another reason hangover anxiety - inability to remember what you said and did while they were drunk.
This is caused by deviation of the level of glutamate. We need him for the formation of memories. After six or seven glasses of alcohol glutamate receptors are blocked with ethanol, so in the morning you do not remember.
However, not all anxiety hangover affects equally. The researchers interviewedShyness, alcohol use disorders and 'hangxiety': A naturalistic study of social drinkers healthy young people, how anxious they felt before and during alcohol consumption, and on the morning after.
According psychopharmacology Morgan Celia (Celia Morgan), in shy people anxiety the next morning is much higher. Perhaps this comes from the fact that their level of GABA initially underestimated. But the case may be, and in psychology. Anxious people tend to be more prone to obsessive thinking about the past.
Unfortunately, there is little that can be done, but to drink less. In the morning, take a pain reliever that did not bother his head. And in any case, do not treat hangover anxiety, a new portion of alcohol. This is the path to addiction.
Try to break the vicious circle. "Before you drink in the company, to feel more confident, imagine the hangover the next day, - says Morgan. - If you can not communicate without alcohol, you get stuck in this circle, and the hangover anxiety will only increase. "
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- How alcohol affects the body and the brain
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