There is a scientific reason why you never have enough after one drink

Hey, nice, weekend. I want to not have a pounding headache and a dead bird in my throat on Sunday morning for a change. I know very well: one glass of wine is fine. After that: stop and cola.

And yet it goes wrong week after week. Completely. I still promise myself to stick to that one glass of wine or that one glass of champagne. And then... Boom. Before I’ve even blinked, I already have wine number five in my claws and had scroppino for dessert before that. And wasn’t there any liqueur in that coffee? I don’t even like liqueur. Oops, mistake. How can that be? Is it my backbone or am I not the only one who goes out for just one drink until so? Well, the answer: there is a scientific explanation for it. Thank you, scientists. Because alcohol produces the happiness hormone endorphin in your head. That is addictive and thus your whole body craves more. And just when you give your body a little bit of this, it wants a little more.

In addition, you become – you may have noticed this when you jumped on the bar for a sultry dance – more impulsive from alcohol. Your inhibitions are considerably weakened. This also happens in your brain: the parts of the brain that ensure you keep thinking rationally and acting practically weaken a bit. They become blurry. A bit wobbly. This means you take less and less account of your own rules. After a beer or two, you don’t even know what your own rules are anymore. But you can’t do much about that thirst that can’t be quenched, because it’s your brain that makes you long for more.

Who knows, I might learn it someday, on a wise day. And then I’ll be fitter than fit seven days a week. Then I’ll go exercise, yes! To yoga, what am I saying? Just do bikram yoga! Then I can maintain my house nicely, scrub the kitchen cabinets from the inside, and do laundry every day. Ooh, and defrost the freezer once! And I’ll cook. Really. Thuisbezorgd.nl will lose its most loyal customer, but oh well. Still cool if I make a spring roll myself. One of those veggie things without frying, because that green light food goes so well with bikram yoga. But alright, okay, psst... I can still have one tiny glass of wine tonight. Very carefully. I’ll sign up for hot pilates next week. Just one. Promise.

FACTS

• Bachelors drink more alcohol than people in a relationship. Singles spend an average of 50 euros per week on drinks; people in a relationship spend an average of 19 euros per week. Saving or dating, then.
• Also, people who have a heavy job drink alcohol more often. Those who work more than 48 hours a week pour themselves a glass of wine more often than average.
• There is a higher chance of divorce if the woman drinks more than her husband.