Everyone knows that alcohol use causes one to get a hangover, but they might not know that drinking is also linked to feelings of intense anxiety. After a night of drinking, they could suffer from anxious feelings, trouble concentrating, and impaired thinking. In that case, they could be among the many people suffering from hangxiety. So what exactly causes this condition and what can one do to alleviate the symptoms? This article discusses everything people need to know about hangxiety and what can be done to avoid it or make it better.
What Is Hangxiety?
Hangxiety is a casual term that combines the words anxiety and hangover. Hangxiety is when people experience intense anxiety the day after a night of heavy drinking. While medical science doesn’t fully understand this phenomenon, it seems this condition affects some people more than others.
Some can drink a lot and still feel worry-free the next day. On the other hand, some people experience significant anxiety the next day with only a moderate amount of drinking.
Most people are somewhere between these two extremes. They probably won’t feel anxious after a few drinks, but a night of heavy drinking will leave them nervous the following day.
Hangxiety could involve a variety of different symptoms, and not everyone experiences them in the same way. Drinkers could experience feelings of nervousness, restlessness, and unease. They might also suffer from racing thoughts and a general sense of discomfort.
If their behaviour in public the previous night may have been problematic, drinkers could experience greater hangxiety. They might regret their actions, or if they blacked out, they might be worried about what even happened.
If someone likes to drink, but the concept of hangxiety sounds unfamiliar, there’s a good chance they will not experience this condition. On the other hand, for those who do experience hangxiety, the concept probably doesn’t need much of an introduction.
What Causes Hangxiety?
While what exactly causes hangxiety is still not fully understood, many likely causes exist. For example, alcohol has a clear effect on the brain. Alcohol is a depressant drug that dramatically impacts the central nervous system. It alters the brain’s neurotransmitters, including those that are responsible for regulating feelings of anxiety.
While alcohol might initially have a sedative effect, it could cause an imbalance in these neurotransmitters when it wears off. This leads to people feeling intense anxiety symptoms.
The withdrawal effects of alcohol could also cause someone to experience anxiety. When one drinks alcohol in large quantities, it can become addictive. Someone who only drinks a lot once in a while won’t experience these kinds of withdrawal symptoms, but if one drinks frequently and heavily, the anxiety one feels could be caused by alcohol withdrawal.
There are also psychological factors at play that could influence people’s anxiety levels. When they drink a lot, they tend to do or say things they might regret. When this happens, they might feel regret, guilt, or doubt about their behaviour. Sometimes, they might not even have a first-hand account of what happened the previous night. This level of doubt can cause them to experience high levels of anxiety.
Besides these, the three main factors that cause hangxiety are dehydration, lack of sleep, and alcohol’s impact on gut health. Below, these factors will be explored in more detail.
What’s the Link Between Hangxiety and Dehydration?
So, what’s the link between hangxiety and dehydration? When one consumes alcohol, it acts as a diuretic. This means it increases urine production, potentially making one more dehydrated. Dehydration can cause anxiety for various reasons. First, it could lead to a sense of physical discomfort.
It could cause dry mouth, a sense of thirst or fatigue, or headaches. These sensations could cause one to feel uneasy and anxious.
The dehydration caused by a hangover could also cause drinkers to experience an electrolyte imbalance. Their body needs certain levels of sodium, potassium, and magnesium. These are essential to keep their nerve cells functioning properly. These cells regulate their mood, so when out of balance, mood can be affected.
Even a mild amount of dehydration can have a negative effect on one’s mood and cognitive performance. Drinking a lot of alcohol causes a severe amount of dehydration, so there’s no surprise that drinking can cause anxiety. It’s important to note that there’s more to hangxiety than just dehydration.
While dehydration almost certainly has an impact, one can’t necessarily prevent hangxiety by staying hydrated. With this said, one can significantly reduce the effects of hangxiety by ensuring one stays as hydrated as possible. One should always prepare for a night of drinking alcohol by drinking good quality water throughout the day.
While drinkers go out, they should consider drinking a glass of water for every alcoholic drink. They should also consider restoring their electrolyte levels by ingesting electrolyte-rich food and drink the following day and before they go out.
Is There a Link Between Hangxiety and Sleep?
A heavy night of drinking often means one won’t get enough sleep. So is there a link between hangxiety and sleep? That seems very likely. While alcohol is a depressant that makes one feel drowsy, it negatively impacts quality of sleep.
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is important because it has a restorative effect on the brain and body. Alcohol disrupts REM sleep, so even if people feel like they’ve slept for a long time, their sleep may have been poor quality.
Alcohol can also cause people to have disrupted fragmented sleep. If they go to bed drunk, they’ll likely wake up frequently at night. This makes it even more difficult to enter the REM phase of sleep. When the alcohol starts to wear off, and the hangover symptoms start to kick in, this is also likely to make them wake up during the second half of the night.
Getting enough sleep is very important. A wide range of psychological problems will occur if one doesn’t get enough rest. Based on this, it is safe to say alcohol will cause one to get less good quality sleep, which could cause anxiety the following day.
Hangxiety and Gut Health
There is also growing evidence out there that hangxiety could be related to the effect alcohol has on human gut health. The gut microbiome contains trillions of microorganisms. Not only are these important for digestion, but they can also influence emotional well-being.
Alcohol consumption can have a huge impact on the balance of gut biome. Given that the gut communicates with the brain, this could have an impact on the emotional state.
Heavy alcohol consumption will cause the number of beneficial gut bacteria to decrease and may increase the number of harmful bacteria. This can cause an increase in inflammation. Disruptions to the gut biome could also have a negative impact on various essential neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine.
How Long Does Hangxiety Last?
It’s clear that hangxiety can significantly impact human mental state, but how long does hangxiety last? Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer. Some people are lucky and can drink a lot without suffering any hangxiety symptoms. On the other hand, other people may experience extreme anxiety that lasts for days.
There are a lot of factors at play that could influence how long hangxiety lasts. For example, individual tolerance to alcohol could play a part. Someone with more experience with drinking could face less hangxiety than someone with barely any drinking background.
Hangxiety severity can be linked to various factors. Overall physical health could have an influence. If someone is less physically healthy, it could make them more likely to get a hangover. It will also mean it takes longer for them to recover.
Hangxiety is also connected to overall mental health. If someone is predisposed to anxiety, it’s more likely they’ll experience it during a hangover, and it’s more likely they’ll experience longer-lasting anxiety symptoms.
If one is in good mental and physical health, one can expect anxiety symptoms to subside within 24 hours. For most people, the anxiety will disappear within a few hours.
How to Deal With Hangover Anxiety?
There’s no one set method on how to deal with hangover anxiety. Of course, the best way to deal with it is to not drink in the first place. If anxiety negatively impacts one’s life, one might consider not drinking for a while. Sometimes hangxiety becomes part of a negative cycle, so breaking the loop and having a few sober weekends is often what someone needs.
Naturally, giving up alcohol is an option many people don’t want to consider. The good news is that people can take some other steps to alleviate the symptoms. One of the main things drinkers can do is ensure they eat and drink properly.
One factor contributing to hangxiety is dehydration due to a lack of electrolytes. Eating nutritious food and drinking enough mineralized water before and after one drink can do a lot to prevent hangxiety and help one recover.
Drinkers also need to make sure they get enough sleep. While drinking alcohol will almost certainly disrupt sleep patterns, people can take steps to ensure they get the best sleep possible; for example, make sure one doesn’t stay out for the whole night. Getting home when the sun rises and trying to sleep is a sure way to feel nervous and restless when one wakes up.
Some people may feel tempted to consume more alcohol. While this can do wonders for eliminating anxiety in the short term, it simply isn’t a solution. When people continue to drink, they’re not getting rid of the anxiety. They’re just pushing back the feeling. Drinking more is likely to worsen anxiety in the long run, and drinking for multiple days in a row can harm their health. Drinking more to escape anxiety can quickly lead to alcoholism, so they must avoid this behaviour at all costs.
Hangxiety Could Indicate a Problem
If someone is regularly experiencing crippling hangxiety after a night of drinking, it could indicate a problem with their relationship with alcohol. Hangxiety can quickly morph into a vicious cycle where they drink daily to avoid the feeling.
If one feels one is at risk, checking oneself into a rehab program may make sense. Whether one is a person with an alcohol use disorder who drinks every day or experiencing problems with persistent hangxiety, a rehab program can help one get one’s life back on track. Contact us today, and we can help you find an alcohol rehab program that works for you or a loved one.
