Why a night of drinking makes you anxious the next dayJune 25, 2019 - 17:58 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Have you ever woken up after a big night of drinking and felt that stab of regret over something you might have said or done? You may know of it as "the Fear" or the "Guilts", but psychologists have a new name for it - "Hangxiety" - it's that anxious feeling of dread or doom you might get as you're recovering from a night out drinking. Psychologist Briony Leo works for the group Hello Sunday Morning, an organisation that encourages a healthy relationship with alcohol and drinking. She sees a lot of people who suffer from Hangxiety and says the scientific process of Hangxiety kicks in well before your hangover does, ABC says. "Alcohol stimulates the production of GABA, which is a chemical that kind of calms down our brain," she told Hack. "So often you'll see it people are having maybe one or two drinks, they'll start to become a bit more cheerful, a bit more relaxed. And after maybe three or four drinks, the brain also starts to block glutamate, which is a chemical that's responsible for anxiety." She says the more glutamate we have in our brains, the more anxious we become. So if you're really anxious, alcohol will feel like it's calming you down. Until the next morning. "When we stopped drinking our brains try to do what's best for us, which is to redress that imbalance. So they'll try to produce more glutamate to make up for what they see is a deficit. And now try to block GABA." Cue the shaky, existential feeling hangover. "So essentially you'll wake up the next morning in the opposite state of what you were when you were drinking, which is that you're feeling quite tense and anxious." But Briony Leo says this type of anxiety might not happen every time you drink - and it's not confined to people who already have existing anxiety. "If you're going through a difficult time in your life you probably will be responding differently to alcohol than if you just come back from holidays, and you are, you know, feeling fantastic." "Somebody who isn't even experiencing any issues with mood could potentially notice it the next day. So it's kind of a physiological thing that can be separate from a mood issue." Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. |