Why Hangovers Cause Anxiety, According to a Medical Pro

Nothing eats up a potentially lovely weekend morning quite like a wicked hangover. Although there are ways to reduce their effects, any excessive drinking will likely result in a groggy morning riddled with aches, pains, fatigue, and overall irritability. If that’s not bad enough, hangovers can also cause spikes in anxiety, a phenomenon colloquially known as “hangxiety.”

But why does something that initially strips away stress and anxiety (i.e., alcohol) cause those emotions to come rushing back the next day in full force? We spoke with Dr. David M. Goldberg, a clinical psychologist at Little Silver Behavioral Health, to find out.

What Is ‘Hangxiety?’

According to Goldberg, the primary cause of hangover-induced anxiety has to do with chemistry and neurotransmitters, or chemical messengers in the brain.

“GABA is a neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in calming the nervous system. Initially, alcohol increases our GABA neurotransmitters, which leads to a feeling of relaxation,” Goldberg says. “But in the end, it drops. Then glutamate, another transmitter, takes over.”

While GABA regulates brain activity and the nervous system, preventing either from becoming overstimulated, glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter. In other words, it heightens nerve impulses and neuron activity. Although glutamate is imperative to cognitive function, Goldberg says that increased levels can translate to feelings of anxiety.

Fluctuating blood sugar levels caused by drinking also play a heavy hand in the onset of hangxiety. “Initially, you get a spike in blood sugars because of the alcohol and then a rapid depletion of them leads to feelings that are attributable to anxiety,” Goldberg says. When blood sugar levels plummet, the body’s fight or flight response kicks in. This causes sweating, shakiness, an increased heart rate, and an overall feeling of anxiety.

Anxiety²

As is the case with all things psychological, the onset of hangxiety isn’t entirely rooted in chemistry. It also stems from an individual’s thinking patterns, especially those who are prone to anxious thoughts to begin with.

“It’s not unusual for anxious people to obsess and ruminate over things that may or may not have happened the night before, especially if they drank,” Goldberg says. “People who have anxiety tend to be hypervigilant, and when they’re hung over, they’re more likely to catastrophize the ‘what ifs.’” The resulting sensation is a culmination of what occurs in the brain on a chemical, emotional, and behavioral level during a hangover. Even though the phenomenon is mostly “all in your head,” it’s one of the few places we can’t escape.

The only hard and fast way to prevent hangover-induced anxiety is drinking in moderation or abstaining altogether. The good news is that, just like any bad hangover, hangxiety doesn’t last forever.

*Image retrieved from Daniels C/peopleimages.com via stock.adobe.com

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