Hangxiety – not to be confused with the great Mel Brooks movie “High Anxiety” – is a term that combines the word “anxiety” with the term “Hangover.” It refers to when someone suffers from anxiety in addition to the usual hangover symptoms.
A terrible headache, nausea, no energy, etc. – as if hangovers are not bad enough? Now think about how much worse they are if you add anxiety into the mix.
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“Almost anyone who drinks any alcohol will experience alterations in their brain when they’re coming off the alcohol. With a small amount of drinking that may manifest as confusion, but after larger quantities you can have anxiety,” says David Nutt, a neuropsychopharmacologist specializing in alcohol’s effects on the brain at Imperial College London and the author of Drink? The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health told National Geographic.
Hangxiety is a term used to describe the feeling of anxiety and worry that can occur after a night of heavy drinking. It’s a combination of a hangover (the physical symptoms you experience after drinking too much alcohol) and anxiety. The exact cause of hangxiety is unknown, but it’s likely due to a combination of factors, including dehydration, changes in brain chemistry, inflammation, sleep disruption and more.
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation explains that alcohol works on the brain’s GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptor – this is what makes you feel more relaxed when you start drinking. As drinking continues, it says, our brains also start to shut off glutamate (which makes you anxious), increasing feelings of calm and being uninhibited. But as alcohol starts to wear off, our brain tries to restore the normal chemical balance.
The Mayo Clinic explains that GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. It lessens a nerve cell’s ability to receive, create or send chemical messages to other nerve cells. Many medical conditions are associated with changing levels of GABA. Multiple medications target the GABA receptor. More evidence is needed to learn if GABA supplements and GABA-containing foods can help prevent or treat disease.
“This is why people feel more relaxed and disinhibited and their racing thoughts reduce when they drink,” says Stephen Holt, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine and director of the Yale-New Haven Hospital’s addiction recovery clinic.
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation also explains that hangover symptoms including anxiety tend to be most severe the day after drinking, when the body’s blood alcohol level returns to zero.
So, what should you do to avoid coming down with a case of hangxiety?
Basically, the best way to avoid one is to not drink. Or, at least avoid drinking regularly. The more a person drinks the more likely they are to suffer from hangxiety.
