We’ve all been there. It’s the day after the night before, and following a few too many drinks you wake up feeling majorly anxious. The reason seems unclear: was it an awkward drunken conversation? Did you do something embarrassing? Not necessarily: you’re probably just suffering from hangxiety.
Hangxiety is exactly what it sounds like: that anxious feeling that accompanies a hangover. And according to science, it’s real. Not just real, in fact, but normal – your brain’s rebalancing act after a night on the tiles.
When you drink alcohol, two things in your brain are affected: glutamate (which makes your brain more active) and Gaba (aka gamma-aminobutyric acid, which makes it less active). With every drink, glutamate decreases and Gaba increases, chilling you out, lowering your inhibitions and slowing your reaction time. According to Sophie Ward, a Tik Tok-er who recently posted a now-viral video on the topic, drinking basically makes your brain operate on slow-mo.
The next day, as alcohol leaves your system, your brain works to get the balance back to normal. But it over-compensates. Glutamate spikes, making your brain hyperactive, while Gaba, which would normally calm you down, is suppressed. And so hangxiety – which can last a few hours, days or even weeks depending on how much and how often you drink – is born.
Is there anything you can do to stop it? Not really, apart from moderating your intake. But next time you wake up hangxious, rest assured that it’s totally normal. The friends you partied with are probably feeling exactly the same way – and knowing that can be pretty anxiety-relieving in itself.
Don’t forget to check out our wellness campaign articles on how to make yourself happy and how to improve your mood.