Hangxiety: What is Hangover Anxiety?

What is Hangxiety?

You maybe wondering, “what is hanxiety?”. Researchers have not been able to isolate a single cause for anxiety related to hangovers, but there are several theories that could explain hangover anxiety, commonly known as the term hangxiety.

When you consume alcohol, this causes your brain to produce high levels of dopamine. You’ll feel good as this chemical floods the brain, but the rush is fleeting. As dopamine levels dip again, feelings of anxiety can replace feelings of euphoria. 

Some of the most popular theories explaining hangxiety include: 

• Poor sleep patterns
• Dehydration
• Social anxiety
• Detoxing from alcohol
• Emotional withdrawal
• Medications
• Alcohol intolerance
• Worry or regret

Poor sleep patterns

Even if you don’t consume excessive amounts of alcohol, it can still negatively impact your sleep health. You may feel that a nightcap helps you to sleep, but the quality of sleep delivered after drinking alcohol is impaired. 

If you are already susceptible to anxiety, you will already likely be aware of a vicious cycle that develops: anxiety symptoms worsen when you get insufficient sleep, yet those same symptoms make it challenging to sleep properly. 

Anyone who habitually uses alcohol as a sleep-aid should immediately rethink this strategy. 

Dehydration

Alcohol is a diuretic that increases the frequency of urination. Compounding this issue, if you are drinking alcohol, you are likely not drinking enough water while you are knocking back alcoholic beverages. These factors combine to bring about dehydration. Research shows that dehydration can lead to anxiety, as well as triggering other adverse mood changes.

Social Anxiety

Anyone suffering from social anxiety may find a couple of alcoholic drinks helps them to relax and cope with feelings of anxiety or nervousness in the lead-up or during social events.

Although small quantities of alcohol can increase relaxation and reduce shyness, as the effects of alcohol wear off, the symptoms of social anxiety rebound. In some classic manifestations of hangxiety, you might even feel worse

Detoxing from alcohol

The alcohol detoxification period can last for several hours, and can be legitimately considered a minor form of alcohol withdrawal.

Alcohol withdrawal is characterized by feelings of anxiety, nervousness, restlessness, and jitteriness. The same applies to hangxiety.

Emotional withdrawal

When you consume alcohol, this leads to the release of feel-good endorphins, followed by a predictable crash. This means drinking alcohol may initially numb physical or emotional pain, but it will do nothing to make that pain dissipate. 

Medications

Some medications, especially anti-anxiety and anti-inflammatory medications, react adversely with alcohol. The effect of these medications is reduced, and you may also feel more anxious. 

Alcohol intolerance

Alcohol intolerance or alcohol allergy can bring on many symptoms similar to the symptoms of anxiety after drinking. These include: 

• Rapid heartbeat
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Headaches

Worry or regret

When you start drinking alcohol, your inhibitions will drop and you’ll feel comfier and more relaxed. Alcohol is renowned as a social lubricant for good reason.

Unfortunately, after three or more drinks, all of the following are impaired:

• Speech
• Thinking
• Judgment
• Reasoning

If you wake up after a night of heavy drinking worrying about what you said, what you did, or what kind of messages you sent when drunk, this is perhaps a manifestation of hangxiety.

To reiterate, it is not fully understood why hangxiety occurs, and perhaps all of the above theories have a role to play.