• Question: Dear scientists! I would like to know how, when alcohol enters the body why it makes you feel depressent instead of happy? and what does it do to the blood circulation?

    Asked by nickimicki to Amelia, Jim, Liz, Prateek, Richard on 22 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Amelia Markey

      Amelia Markey answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Here’s a website with some of the facts about alcohol:

      http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/facts/health-facts

      I’m not entirely sure how it causes depression but it likely interacts with receptors in your brain leading to the feeling of depression. It also stimulates responses in your body that lead to anxiety. A result of this can be increased heart rate and blood pressure. Alcohol also gives signals to your kidneys which stop them from retaining water. This means you lose more water in your urine than you should making you dehydrated. This is probably also why you get high blood pressure and it is why you get headaches/hangovers.

    • Photo: Jim Caryl

      Jim Caryl answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      The BBC has just featured a video by James May looking at why alcohol causes hangovers:

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13798275

      Another important aspect of alcohol is that it is a vaso-dilator, which means it makes the blood vessels in your body expand, which is particularly noticeable in your skin, which becomes flushed red with blood. It is for this reason why you should *not* give alcohol to someone who is very cold (or hypothermic – dangerously cold), like the old stories of giving whisky or brandy to people rescued on mountainsides. It may make your throat feel warm, but it could cause you to lose more heat through your skin.

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