The Science of Alcohol and Anxiety
Welcome to The Alcohol Reset, the podcast that helps you reset your habits, health, and relationship with alcohol without judgment or extremes. If you're looking to cut back, take a break, or just understand how drinking can affect your body and mind, you're in the right place. Each episode brings you science backed insights on neuroscience, nutrition, and habit change to help you feel better, sleep deeper, and take control on your terms. This podcast is brought to you by Cloud Nine, makers of Daily Restore, a once a day supplement to support your body from alcohol's effects, and rise and unwind AMPM, a twenty four hour combo to curb cravings, balance mood, and improve sleep when taking a break. Go to try cloud9.com and use the code podcast to save 15% on your next order.
Speaker 1:I'm Mike Hardenbrook, best selling author, neuroscience enthusiast, and habit change expert. I've helped thousands through my book and podcast to rethink their drinking, and now I'm here to help you do the same. Let's get started. Hey, everyone. Today, we're gonna be looking at something.
Speaker 1:You know, that kinda, like, uneasy relationship between alcohol and anxiety. Like, we we all know, at least I think most of us know, that alcohol is, well, it could be a pretty lousy long term solution for dealing with anxiety. But a lot of us, myself included, have definitely used it. We can kinda take the edge off. But the thing is, like, even though it might feel like it's working in the moment, the research is pretty clear that in the long run, it can actually make things a lot worse.
Speaker 1:So today, we're gonna really dig into, like, the science of why that is. Why does alcohol you know, it gives us that initial calm feeling, but then it seems like it always comes back to bite us later with even more anxiety. So we're gonna unpack that whole process. And, hopefully, by the end of this, you'll have a little better understanding of what's really going on in your brain when you're using alcohol to cope with anxiety. So let's get started.
Speaker 1:Okay. So first things first. Why is that first drink or two? Sometimes make us feel so much more like, what's actually happening in our brains? Well, it all comes down to the fact that alcohol is a what we call a central nervous system depressant.
Speaker 1:And what does that actually mean? Well, basically, it means that alcohol slows down the activity in your brain. And your nervous system, you know, think of it like this. When you're feeling anxious, it's kinda like your brain's volume knob is cranked way up. All those thoughts and worries are just firing off like crazy, and alcohol comes along and acts like a dimmer switch, turning that volume down a bit.
Speaker 1:And a big part of how it does that is by interacting with this neurotransmitter called GABA. You heard of GABA before? It's like our brain's natural chill pill. It's the main inhibitory neurotransmitter, meaning it helps to calm things down, slow down those racing thoughts, and reduce overall brain activity. And alcohol actually enhances the effects of GABA.
Speaker 1:It basically makes that chill pill even more potent. So when you drink, you're essentially boosting GABA activity in your brain, which leads to those feelings of relaxation and reduce anxiety that we often experience initially. So giving your brain's natural calming system a little extra help. And for a lot of people, that's exactly what they're looking for when they reach for a drink. It's that feeling of, I can finally unwind.
Speaker 1:But here's the catch, and this is where things get a little tricky. That initial sense of calm that we get from alcohol, it's not actually a sustainable solution. It's more like a temporary truce. Because as the alcohol starts to wear off, our brains don't just go back to their normal baseline level of activity. Instead, they can overcompensate.
Speaker 1:So they're trying to play catch up after being suppressed for a while. So instead of that calm feeling Yeah. We end up with, you guessed it, increased anxiety. Mhmm. Often, even worse than we were feeling before we started drinking.
Speaker 1:You know, this is that phenomenon that people often call rebound anxiety, or sometimes you hear it called hangxiety when it happens the morning after a night of drinking. Basically, it's your brain's way of saying, hey. Things got a little too quiet there for a while. I need to crank things back up to get back in balance. But, unfortunately, this often results in a kind of overshoot where anxiety levels spike even higher than they were before.
Speaker 1:Now GABA isn't the only neurotransmitter that gets affected by alcohol. Another major player in this whole equation is dopamine, which is often referred to as the feel good neurotransmitter. Now dopamine plays a huge role in our brain's reward system, and this is super important for understanding why we might keep reaching for alcohol even when we know it's not good for us in the long run. So when you drink alcohol, it triggers the release of dopamine in certain parts of your brain, particularly in an area called the nucleus accumbens, which is like the brain's pleasure center. And this surge of dopamine creates a feeling of pleasure and reward, and it reinforces the behavior that led to that reward, in this case, drinking.
Speaker 1:So, basically, your brain is like, hey. That felt good. Let's do that again. But here's the problem. Over time, with repeated exposure to alcohol, your brain can actually start to produce less dopamine naturally.
Speaker 1:It's like your brain becomes a little bit desensitized to its own internal reward system because it's getting so much dopamine from an external source via alcohol. Yeah. So you might find yourself needing to drink more and more just to achieve that same level of pleasure and reward that you used to get from less alcohol. And when you're not drinking, that dip in your natural dopamine levels can actually contribute to feelings of unease, low motivation, and, yep, you guessed it, increased anxiety. So it becomes a vicious cycle where you might drink to try to feel better, but in the long run, it's actually making your anxiety worse when you're not drinking.
Speaker 1:Okay. So we've talked about how alcohol affects GABA, which is our brain's natural calming system, and dopamine, which is involved in our brain's reward system. Now let's talk about another neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in this whole story, and that's glutamate. Now if GABA is like the brake pedal in our brain, glutamate is more like the gas pedal. It's the main excitatory neurotransmitter, meaning it increases brain activity and helps neurons communicate with each other.
Speaker 1:Now here's how alcohol fits into all of this. Alcohol actually inhibits the activity of certain receptors in the brain that glutamate uses to do its job. This is actually a major factor in the withdrawal symptoms that people experience when they stop drinking, especially if they've been drinking heavily for a long time. Their brains have essentially become accustomed to functioning with alcohol constantly suppressing glutamate activity. So when that suppression suddenly lifted, it's like their brains go into overdrive, trying to make up for lost time.
Speaker 1:And that can lead to a whole cascade of uncomfortable and sometimes even dangerous symptoms. Now it's not just about the direct effects of alcohol and neurotransmitters. There's also another important factor to consider, and that's neuroinflammation. You heard of this before. Basically, it's when your brain's immune system gets activated and starts causing inflammation.
Speaker 1:And alcohol can actually trigger this inflammatory response in the brain, especially when it's consumed chronically and in large amounts. So think of it like this. So it's not just that alcohol is directly messing with our neurotransmitters. It's also causing this ongoing inflammatory response in our brains, which can further contribute to those feelings of anxiety and unease and make it even harder to manage our moods. And here's another layer to this whole puzzle.
Speaker 1:Alcohol can also interfere with our body's ability to absorb and use essential nutrients, and these nutrients are super important for our brains to function properly. Now we talk a lot about the importance of things like omega three fatty acids, b vitamins, magnesium, and other nutrients for supporting mental health. But alcohol can actually deplete these nutrients in our bodies, making it even harder for our brains to function optimally. One really critical example of this is thiamine, also known as vitamin b one. Thiamine plays a vital role in the health of our nervous system, helping our brain cells produce energy and communicate effectively.
Speaker 1:So it's not just about the direct effects of alcohol in our brain chemistry. It's also about the indirect effects of alcohol on our overall nutritional status. And when our brains aren't getting the nutrients they need, it's like trying to run a car on fumes. They're not gonna function as well, and we're gonna be more susceptible to all sorts of problems, including anxiety. And finally, let's talk about the impact of alcohol on sleep.
Speaker 1:Now you might think that having a drink before bed will help you fall asleep easier. And it's true that alcohol can have an initial side of effect, but the truth is alcohol actually disrupts our sleep cycles and reduces the overall quality of our sleep. Even if it helps you fall asleep faster, it often leads to more fragmented sleep with more awakenings throughout the night. And it also suppresses REM sleep, which is the stage of sleep that's most important for emotional processing, memory consolidation, and feeling truly rested and refreshed. Sleep deprivation can actually make anxiety symptoms worse.
Speaker 1:So if you're using alcohol to try to manage your anxiety, but you're also regularly disrupting your sleep, it's kinda like taking one step forward and two steps back. You might get some temporary relief in the alcohol, but the poor sleep qualities can end up making your anxiety worse in the long run. So to sum it all up, alcohol and anxiety have this really complex and interconnected relationship. While alcohol might seem like a quick fix for anxiety in the moment, it actually creates a whole cascade of effects in our brains and bodies that can ultimately make anxiety worse in the long run. We've talked about how alcohol affects neurotransmitters like GABA, dot dopamine, glutamate.
Speaker 1:We've talked about how it triggers neuroinflammation, depletes essential nutrients, and disrupts our sleep. And all these factors can contribute to increased anxiety, as well as other mental and physical health problems. So if you're struggling with anxiety, it's really important to find healthier and more sustainable ways to manage it. There are so many effective strategies out there that can help you calm your nervous system, regulate your mood, and improve your overall well-being without relying on alcohol as a crutch. Some of these strategies might include things like pathophysic, mindfulness and meditation, regular exercise, spending time in nature, connecting with loved ones, getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, and working with a therapist or counselor to develop coping skills and address any underlying emotional issues.
Speaker 1:Remember, you aren't to go through this alone. There's help available, and there's hope for a brighter future. So what's one thing you can do this week? It could be something as simple as trying a five minute guided meditation, going for a walk in the park. Every small step counts, and I'm cheering you on every step of the way.
Speaker 1:I'll see you next time. Take care. That's a wrap for today's episode. If you got something out of this, do me a quick favor. Leave a rating and review on whatever podcast platform you're listening on.
Speaker 1:It helps keep the show going and would mean the world to me. Got ideas, comments, or questions? Shoot me an email at mike@trycloud9.com. I'd love to hear from you. And if you're looking for extra support, check out Cloud Nine, makers of Daily Restore, a once a day supplement to support your body from alcohol's effects, and Rise and Unwind AMPM, a twenty four hour combo to curb cravings, balance mood, and improve sleep when taking a break.
Speaker 1:Go to trycloud9.com and use the code podcast to save 15% on your next order. Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you next time.