Did you know beer, wine and liquor can all set off different emotions?
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That's what scientists from the United Kingdom discovered after recently conducting a study, published in British Medical Journal, to examine the emotions associated with drinking different types of alcohol.
To do so, they looked at data from the Global Drug Study, a survey on alcohol and drug use. It examined about 30,000 people aged 18 to 34 in more than 20 countries, who reported drinking beer, red and white wine, and liquor/spirits within the last year.
The questionnaire focused on the participants’ drinking habits and how they felt while consuming each type of liquor.
After analyzing the results, they found that red wine soothed 53 percent of the group, while beer relaxed 50 percent of them.
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On the other hand, hard liquor brought out more fiery emotions. About 30 percent said liquor made them feel aggressive, almost 60 percent admitted it made them feel energetic and confident, and 43 percent reported that it made them feel sexy.
Furthermore, heavier drinkers were also six times as likely to report feelings of aggression.
“Understanding emotions associated with alcohol consumption is imperative to addressing alcohol misuse, providing insight into what emotions influence drink choice between different groups in the population.,” the study read.
While they don’t yet understand why different drinks trigger different emotions, researchers believe their findings can help combat alcoholism. That’s why they hope to conduct more studies.
“The differences,” the writers wrote, “identified between sociodemographic groups and influences on drink choice within different settings will aid future public health practice to further comprehend individuals’ drinking patterns and influence behaviour change.”
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