Blame it on science: why you never stop after one drink

Weekends call for a toast, that's just a certainty in life. Do it with a wine or a beer, but cheers with your buddies.

On that week that is over again. Or on that week that is yet to come. But as we all honestly know: if you're still halfway through your glass of vino, the next glass is already calling. Then you already know: I'm going to order another one soon and maybe even number three. Why is one glass of alcohol not enough for us? You can tell yourself: today I'll have one and that's just fine. But no.. That's just never going to happen. It's the fault of our reptilian brain, it turns out.

Because dopamine is released in your brain from that first bit of alcohol and that creates a nice relaxed feeling. It's addictive, just like drugs. You want more of it. You want to feel even more carefree and relaxed. Some are naturally a bit more sensitive to it than others, and so that one friend orders the next round a bit faster, but in the end, we're all the same in our brains. The tricky part is that your inhibitions decrease a bit when you start with a drink. Because you're less held back in your behavior and you soon act less wisely than you normally would, that second round is already on the table before you've had a chance to think about it. And if it's not you, then it's your bestie across from you with her thirsty throat.

For every glass you drink, your body takes about an hour and a half to feel ‘good and normal’ again. That poor liver has it tough quickly. But there is a good old placebo trick. Drinking non-alcoholic beer, for example. Sounds a bit silly, but it's not. It's only getting trendier in the nightlife scene. Because just the smell of beer (which non-alcoholic beer also has) ensures that you get that relaxed feeling and just seeing a glass of beer (and non-alcoholic beer looks the same, yes) does too. And since we nowadays don't want hangovers anymore and want to fill our weekends with useful things, it's advisable. Yes to that ‘happy weekend feeling’, but spare your liver a bit.

Just try it, for the surprise. It saves you a dose of nausea and hammers in your head. Because sometimes it's easier not to start at all than to stop after one glass.

Source: de Volkskrant