Have you ever noticed you feel more anxious or down the day after drinking alcohol?
Your anxiousness or low mood might completely disappear after having a few drinks no doubt, but the next day it comes back ten-fold. Here are three reasons why...
HAPPY HORMONES
Alcohol actually increases the amount of happy hormones we have when drinking -
GABA - our calming hormone
Serotonin - our happy hormone
Dopamine - our motivation/pleasure hormone
No wonder we feel so fantastic after having a few drinks, but this depletes the amount we have in our brain so once they leave we feel much worse than before. Drains us emotionally, literally leaving our mental health so much worse!.
SLEEP
Alcohol increases our sleep-inducing chemical, adenosine. That's why we can feel quite sleepy after a few. But this doesn't mean the quality of our sleep will be great, you may never get into a deep sleep and toss and turn all night waking completely unrefreshed. And how much worse does our mental health feel after a shocking night's sleep? 🌛
LOSS OF NUTRIENTS
Alcohol depletes us of many key nutrients such as B vitamins, zinc and magnesium. Using these up means we have less to be able to make our happy, calming hormones triggering anxiety and depression.
OESTROGEN
Alcohol burdens the liver, which normally detoxifies old oestrogen, slowing this process down and it increases the amount of free oestrogen circulating in your blood. Hello oestrogen dominance!
I actually went through a period at the beginning of lockdown where I was drinking a lot at night, doing zoom drinking games and boozy phone calls to friends. My mental health was so terrible the next day. Of course I knew the links, but I was in a bit of a lockdown rut. I got so sick of it, that I ended up giving up alcohol for the most part. I drink probably 4 times a year now, and only ever 3 drinks. I know it makes me feel better not to drink, and when I feel better, I'm a better mother to my kids.
If you think alcohol is impacting you, why don't you go without it for a month. Once the month is over, I bet you won't look back
