Is “Hangxiety” Real?

 As college students, we have all had a rough night or two of drinking and partying too

hard. The day that follows you may suffer from a hangover or worse- “hangxiety”. I

personally thought that “hangxiety” or hangover-anxiety was a term invited by young

adults, however, hangixety is very real and many around the world experience this

phenomenon. What is hangxiety? Hangixety is a term used to describe the anxious

feeling that accompanies the physical hangover. Not only is your body recovering from

all of the alcohol but your mind is too.

After drinking alcohol, two parts of the brain are affected. The first is glutamate, which

makes the brain more active. The second is Gaba, which makes the brain less active.

Alcohol causes glutamate to decrease and for Gaba to increase. However, the next day,

as the alcohol leaves the body, the brain is working to balance itself back to normal. The

brain then over-compensates as it works to balance back. This causes glutamate to

increase and the brain becomes hyperactive. Gaba, which calms the body is then

suppressed. The changes in glutamate and Gaba as the alcohol wears off, create what is

known as Hangxiety. Alcohol is a depressant that causes a sedating/ relaxing sensation.

As the alcohol wears off, the body basically reacts as if it is going through withdrawal.

There is not much one can do to treat hangxiety, other than the treatment and coping

mechanisms people use regarding anxiety. To lessen the risk of hangxiety the day after

drinking, preventative actions can be taken the night before. Hangxiety is very real and

not simply something made-up as I first originally thought.

Kelly Pham (3).

Comments

  1. Lydia LitvakNovember 16, 2022 at 8:10 AM

    Hi Kelly!
    Before reading your post, I was definitely aware of the term hangxiety and its negative implications on someone throughout the day as they are recovering from a night out. I always thought this was just because of the embarrassment of certain interactions from the night before, but had no idea how the science behind it worked. Is there anyway to curb hanxiety? or is it directly associated with how much one drinks, etc?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousNovember 18, 2022 at 4:23 PM

      Hi Lydia!
      Sadly there is not a way to curb hangxiety rather preventative actions before you start drinking. It’s just how alcohol affects the body regardless of how much was drank.
      - Kelly

      Delete
  2. AnonymousNovember 17, 2022 at 8:15 AM

    Hi Kelly! This was the first time I’ve heard about hangxiety, and I thought it was really interesting to learn about the neurotransmitters in our brain that cause it. Does hangxiety happen after a person has a certain number of drinks or does it depend on how much a person can tolerate?
    - Sarah Belcher

    ReplyDelete
  3. Adyelis M. Colon MartinezNovember 17, 2022 at 8:23 AM

    Hello Kelly!

    This makes so much sense! I had absolutely no idea that hangxiety existed at all. I have always notices that when other around me drink alcohol they sometimes appear to be a bit more embarrassed or regretful. I was unaware that there was a specific reason as to why this occurs. Does hangxiety always occur after drinking alcohol or does it only occur occasionally or randomly? Does creating a tolerance toward alcohol affect hangxiety?

    - Adyelis M. Colon Martinez

    ReplyDelete

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