Does alcohol help with stress and is it possible to drink it to relieve tension — scientific facts

Mankind has been using alcohol since time immemorial in order to relax the nervous system, relieve stress and calm the nerves.

Are people doing the right thing? There is no simple and unambiguous answer to this question.

Scientific research produces contradictory results. Doctors' opinions also differ, sometimes quite significantly.

Some studies claim that light and moderate alcohol consumption can actually reduce stress and reduce feelings of anxiety and anxiety.

According to other studies, regular stress relief with alcohol can lead to addiction.

To understand whether it is possible to get rid of excessive nervous tension with the help of alcohol, you need to understand why a stressful state occurs and the mechanisms of alcohol's effect on the central nervous system and other organs.

Is it possible to relieve tension with alcohol?

Stress is the mobilization of all body systems to change life circumstances. In order to survive this stress, the body produces a special hormone cortisol.

Because the main task of cortisol is to help a person survive in an emergency situation, it forces the body to mobilize as much as possible:

1. Accelerates reactions to stimuli;
2. Increases heart rate and breathing depth;
3. Sometimes sharpens attention and improves the functioning of the perception channels, which is why there is a state of increased anxiety and even a feeling of fear.

It is difficult for the body to stay in such a mobilized state for a long time, therefore, there is a desire to get rid of the effects of stress.

There are many ways to relieve tension, but smoking and alcohol are the fastest: after getting into the blood of ethanol, which is contained in any alcoholic beverage, in the first few minutes, a person really feels relaxed, because alcohol blocks the production of cortisol . But this does not mean that with alcohol comes relief from stress.

Rather, the effect of ethanol could be compared with the effect of anesthesia: outwardly it looks like a state of sleep, but in fact it does not bring rest to the body, but on the contrary, it often causes torment. Here's what happens to a person when drinking alcohol:

1. Ethyl alcohol worsens the condition of the blood. You can see this clearly by dropping alcohol into a glass of water, where blood is added. Turbidity and flakes will instantly appear in the liquid: in the same way, blood thickens in the circulatory system and clots and blood clots form.
2. Clots and blood clots break blood circulation . They do not give the blood a full course to the organs: as a result, brain cells begin to starve from lack of oxygen and nutrients, which they do not receive. This is a state of oxygen starvation and is perceived as a state of mild euphoria peculiar to the drinker.
3. Ethanol destroys the cerebral cortex. The feeling of intoxication is caused not only by oxygen starvation, but also by the complete destruction of brain cells . At first, neural connections are disrupted, which is why a person's coordination of movement deteriorates, speech becomes difficult and movements slow down. Then he loses control of himself altogether, because the cells of the cerebral cortex are literally destroyed under the influence of alcohol.

What is the danger of abuse?

Many people who have consumed strong drinks claim that in this way you can not only distract from your experiences, but also aggravate them. And certainly if there is any problem with sobering up the painful perception of the problem itself returns, and a feeling of anxiety is added to it.

Doctors are also convinced that drinking alcohol is in no way a way to overcome stress, and even more so depression. But they explain it from a scientific point of view. More detailed about the relationship between alcohol and depression see in a separate article.

Besides the fact that alcohol does not produce cortisol, it also helps the production of the pleasure hormone more dopamine than usual.

Getting used to getting a dose of pleasure in such a simple and fast way, the brain forgets how to produce it under other conditions . So, a person who is exposed to stress and accustomed to neutralize it with alcohol ceases to feel pleasure from any life joys, except from alcohol intoxication.  And without drinking alcohol, he almost constantly feels stressed.

It turns out that a person is faced with a choice: either he is forced to be under stress almost constantly, or become an alcoholic. Thus, alcohol necessarily exacerbates the problem of stress response, and not only in the short term: stress, panic attacks and depressive states develop into chronic ones.

 

10 effective ways to deal with stress

There are a huge number of working ways to overcome stress without alcohol, which, moreover, do not have negative health effects. Everyone needs to use them regularly, because stress is easier to prevent than to get out of it.

Tension tends to accumulate completely unnoticed by a person. And sometimes a not particularly critical situation can unexpectedly unsettle. Therefore, it is advisable to periodically turn to ways to maintain mental and physical balance in order to always be fully prepared.

1. Physical activity

Here we are talking not only and not so much about sports, because sports are also a kind of stress for the body, but rather about physical culture and an active lifestyle in general.

Any activity that requires at least some kind of movement, movement, or other physical action, it will distract you well from your worries . These are the laws of interaction between the physical body and the human psyche.

2. Full sleep

Without enough sleep at night, it is pointless to talk about fighting nervous tension or anxiety at all: the areas of the brain that are responsible for mental stability , can rest and relax only during sleep.

In addition, hormonal balance, which is necessary for the functioning of all body systems and is responsible for emotional balance, is possible only if an adult sleeps at night for an average of 7 to 8 hours.

3. Inclusion of certain foods in the diet

A well-chosen diet can be of great help in dealing with nervous overloads.

And first of all, vegetables, fruits, cereals and greens should be in the diet, containing vitamins, especially those belonging to group B , minerals such as magnesium, potassium, iodine, phosphorus.

You definitely need all kinds of seafood, seeds, nuts and natural refined vegetable oils rich in unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids , omega-6 and omega-9.

Brain-healthy foods containing tryptophan are also mandatory on the menu for stress: these are low-fat, but also non-fat dairy products, turkey meat, seafood, nuts, bitter chocolate.

4. Soothing teas

Soothing drinks is not only a useful, but also a pleasant way to restore mental balance. With regular use of weak black and green teas, mate, chamomile tea and other herbal infusions and decoctions.

For example, you can mix in equal proportions and brew drinks from:

1. Valerian root and hop cones;
2. Valerian root and peppermint;
3. Melissa, valerian and motherwort;
4. St. John's wort, lemon balm and linden flowers;
5. Mint. oregano, St. John's wort, chamomile;
6. Oregano, calendula, St. John's wort;
7. Motherwort, hawthorn, chamomile;
8. Valerian, hops, mint, motherwort, crushed rosehip fruits.

There are a lot of options for such teas: everyone will choose according to their taste.

5. Soothing essential oils

Relaxing Essential Oils is used both internally and for aromatherapy, and in cosmetics applied externally. They are chosen depending on the individual reaction of the body from those esters, which have soothing properties .

You need to do this every day for a month. For example, lavender oil is taken orally 2-3 drops, chamomile &8212; no more than two drops with honey, orange &8212; 2-3 drops with vegetable or fruit juice.

All these oils are useful during aromatherapy, when added to massage and cosmetic mixtures and baths, pre-mixed with an emulsifier, for example, sea salt or bubble bath.

As an emergency, you can drip esters into aroma medallions or simply moisten a piece of cloth with them to inhale the healing aroma.

6. Creation

Any creation, whether it's watercolor paintings or baking homemade cookies, not only distracts from sad thoughts, but also fills with satisfaction from the fruits of their labor.

This is a very positive way to develop more pleasure hormones.

7. Listening to music

This method is interesting because it triggers the necessary chemical processes in the brain, regardless of what kind of music is being listened to: it does not depend on style, genre, performance technique, or even on its emotional coloring.

The main thing is that you just like this music, then it will have a healing effect

8. Water treatments

Water has a very beneficial effect on the nervous system: It distracts from your worries, Relieves tension and reduces anxiety, and also Improves cognitive functions .

Swimming in a pool or an open pond, aqua aerobics, medical wellness and home baths and showers are suitable for this.

In the case of contrast douches, the body also produces a large amount of endorphins, which cannot but have a beneficial effect on mental balance.

9. Communication with nature

The life of nature is based on natural balance: in any of its manifestations there is something that a person lacks in a state of stress, harmony.

Therefore, each person, depending on individual preferences, can choose for himself a suitable object and form of communication or even just contemplation: This can be watching species documentaries, reading books about nature, caring for indoor flowers or pets, and growing plants in the backyard.

10. Pronouncing the problem

It is no coincidence that it is sometimes considered to relieve stress it is enough to discuss the problem with someone , even if it is not a psychotherapist or a psychologist who can professionally help a person who is under stress.

Talking through a problem as a way to get rid of stress does not always require an interlocutor, although positive communication is useful in any case. Psychologists advise, as a last resort, to put the problem on paper: after that, at least part of the tension will be relieved.

Interesting video

And now we invite you to familiarize yourself with the video:

There are a lot of ways to overcome stress, and each of them is able to completely replace such a pseudo-method as alcohol consumption. It must be remembered that this is a dead-end path leading to serious problems with physical and mental health. Using various positive methods of getting rid of excessive neuropsychiatric stress, you can not only easily get out of stress, but also prevent depression.