Whatever you think of alcohol, you have to admit that it\u2019s versatile. Ever since the first humans started smashing up fruit and leaving it in pots to chug a few days later, we\u2019ve been relying on it to celebrate and commiserate, to deal with anxiety and to make us more creative. We use it to build confidence and kill boredom, to get us in the mood for going out and to put us to (nonoptimal) sleep. Where most mind-altering substances have one or two specific use-cases, alcohol does the lot. That\u2019s probably why it\u2019s been so ubiquitous throughout human history \u2013 and why it can be so hard to give up entirely.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe often call alcohol pharmacologically promiscuous,\u201d says Dr Rayyan Zafar, a neuropsychopharmacologist from Imperial College London. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t just calm you: it can stimulate reward pathways, dampen threat signals, release endogenous opioids that can relieve pain or stress, alter decision-making and shift mood, all at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
By way of comparison, we know that cocaine primarily acts on our dopamine and noradrenaline systems (which drive motivation, alertness and energy), MDMA primarily stimulates the release of serotonin and oxytocin (which elevate mood, empathy and social bonding), and opiates such as heroin work on the endorphin system (which induces deep relaxation and euphoria). Alcohol<\/a> hits all of these, and also the two most common neurotransmitters in your nervous system: glutamate, which fires up your brain cells so they can send information, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (almost always shortened to Gaba), which slows down or blocks certain signals to help the brain relax.<\/p>\n \u201cAlcohol gets to the brain within minutes, and the first thing it does is start shifting the balance between these two inhibitory and excitatory chemical messengers,\u201d says Zafar. \u201cIt enhances Gaba and dampens glutamate, and so that early \u2018buzzed\u2019 feeling is a combination of your frontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for judgment, restraint and self-monitoring, starting to go offline. That\u2019s twinned with the release of dopamine and endorphins in the reward circuits that give you motivation, relaxation and energy. So people feel more relaxed, more talkative, less socially inhibited.\u201d<\/p>\n As the concentration of alcohol in your bloodstream rises, it begins to affect deeper and more primitive brain regions \u2013 including the cerebellum, which coordinates movement, and the brainstem, which regulates basic functions like heart rate and breathing. \u201cIt progressively shuts down higher-order control systems first, and then the circuits that keep us physically coordinated,\u201d says Zafar. This means that your speech slurs, your balance falters and your reaction times slow. If you ignore all the warning signs until your blood-alcohol levels get critical, it can slow down the brainstem so much that it forgets to tell your lungs to breathe or your heart to beat.<\/p>\n Party time \u2026 people feel more relaxed and confident after a few drinks. Photograph: Posed by models; Diamond Dogs\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The Gaba-glutamate balance is also responsible for the anxious or depressed feeling many of us get the day after one too many, as the body overcorrects for the chemicals you\u2019re putting into it. \u201cWhile alcohol is in your system, the brain compensates for its sedative effects by ramping up its excitatory systems, particularly glutamate and the stress pathways,\u201d saysZafar. \u201cOnce alcohol leaves your system, though, those compensatory systems don\u2019t instantly switch off \u2013 instead, you\u2019re left with a temporary rebound state of hyperexcitation. Stress hormones like cortisol can remain elevated, sleep architecture has been disrupted, and neurotransmitter systems are temporarily out of balance. The result is a brain that feels wired but depleted, anxious and restless.\u201d<\/p>\n Another increasingly well-understood factor in alcohol\u2019s effects on our mood is the gut-brain axis, or the communication network linking our central nervous system with our gastrointestinal tract.<\/p>\n \u201cAlcohol can increase intestinal permeability, causing what is often called \u2018leaky gut\u2019 \u2013 allowing bacterial fragments to enter the bloodstream,\u201d says Zafar. \u201cThese molecules trigger immune responses and low-grade inflammation, which can affect mood, cognition and fatigue via the gut-brain axis.\u201d In heavy or chronic drinkers, this can cause longer-term health issues, many of which are likely linked to mood. And we also still have to contend with all the more well-established downsides of regular alcohol consumption, including liver disease, elevated blood pressure, disrupted sleep and an increased risk of several types of cancer.<\/p>\n Sore head \u2026 the positive effects of alcohol can soon wear off. Photograph: Posed by model; Basak Gurbuz Derman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n So where does this leave us, the apes still addicted to glugging the odd fermented-fruit extract after a long day at the office? Well, first, hopefully in a better position to appreciate the reason many of us do it in the first place. \u201cI think the most helpful shift is to move away from thinking about alcohol \u2013 or any other psychoactive recreational drug \u2013 in moral terms, like \u2018good\u2019 or \u2018bad\u2019, \u2018strong\u2019 or \u2018weak\u2019,\u201d says Zafar. \u201cAlcohol works because it is biologically effective. It changes stress systems, reward circuits and social processing in ways that feel useful in the moment. Understanding the \u2018why\u2019 we need alcohol helps people become more intentional. Instead of asking, \u2018Should I drink?\u2019, a better question might be, \u2018What am I using this drink for?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n If the answer\u2019s stress relief, social ease or switching off, we might realise that we don\u2019t really need all that much of it to achieve the desired effect \u2013 or that we aren\u2019t willing to deal with the neurochemical rebound it guarantees. We might set ourselves simple \u201crules\u201d for when \u2013 and how much \u2013 we\u2019ll drink, to ensure that we stay under the NHS-recommended maximum of 14 units a week<\/a>. We also, of course, might realise that something else would do the same job better \u2013 whether that\u2019s a mocktail, some deep breathing, a cold plunge or a hot shower. We might find alternatives for the thing we drink with dinner, or when we\u2019re out with friends, or after a hard day. Alcohol might be the most versatile mood-altering tool available, but that\u2019s the great thing about modern living: we\u2019ve got loads of new ones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whatever you think of alcohol, you have to admit that it\u2019s versatile. 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