Have you ever opted for one adult beverage over another because of how you think it’ll make you feel? Maybe red wine makes you sleepy, so you avoid it during dinner before a night out. Or perhaps whiskey makes you melancholic, so you pick beer instead. According to new research, there may be some scientific basis to this.
A study just published in the British Journal of Medicine found that drinking different types of alcohol results in varied emotional reactions.
More than half of survey participants associating drinking hard liquors like gin, vodka and whiskey with feeling energetic and confident, while 42 percent reported they made them feel sexy.
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Red wine and beer make people feel most relaxed, the study found. On the other hand, drinking hard liquors are more likely to make you feel aggressive and restless or make you cry.
Also of note: Women more frequently reported feeling all emotions except feelings of aggression when drinking alcohol.
More: Behind the Rise in Alcoholism in Women
The authors suggest that we may choose to consume different types of alcohol because we subconsciously want to feel specific emotions we associate with that beverage.
“These findings suggest that individuals inadvertently select drinks which are known to elicit negative emotions because they crave the positive emotions that go with them and link with existing evidence that those dependent on alcohol drink alcohol as a coping mechanism rather than drinking for pleasure,” the authors write in the paper.
But aside from arming you with some fun facts to share at your next family holiday meal, what’s the point of looking at this relationship? According to the authors, understanding emotions associated with alcohol consumption is an important part of addressing alcohol misuse, providing insight into what emotions influence drink choice between different groups in the population.
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