One of the world’s foremost experts on stress has issued a stark warning to anyone who turns to alcohol for stress relief. Millions will recognise that sensation after a demanding day at the office when you arrive home and uncork a bottle of wine or open a beer, feeling the day’s tensions dissolve with those initial sips.
However, Carmine Pariante, a professor of biological psychiatry at King’s College London, warns that those attempting to lower their stress levels through alcohol may actually be exacerbating their difficulties, as alcohol raises the body’s levels of cortisol, frequently referred to as “the stress hormone”.
The science supports his concern. Research has shown that even moderate alcohol consumption can activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis – the body’s central stress response system – leading to increased cortisol secretion. Another study found that chronic alcohol use dysregulates the HPA axis, resulting in persistently elevated cortisol levels that can worsen anxiety and depressive symptoms over time. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has similarly noted that long-term alcohol use disrupts the body’s stress response systems in ways that can make individuals more vulnerable to stress, not less.
Prof Pariante was speaking on the ZOE Science and Nutrition podcast. When host Jonathan Wolf asked “does alcohol reduce my stress”, Prof Pariante responded: “It reduces literally for, like, the 10 minutes, half an hour that you are drinking and you’re under the effect. I would argue that, actually, if you feel that it’s actually reducing your stress a lot while you’re drinking, you’re probably drinking too much. It’s numbing it and then usually gets worse after.”
Prof Pariante explained that alcohol elevates cortisol levels: “People with alcohol problems, they have sky-high levels of cortisol. They increase inflammation terribly. So people with alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse, they have high levels of cortisol and high levels of inflammation.
“So physiologically it does everything that you don’t want to do because it activates the stress response. I still think it’s nice to have a glass of wine or share a bottle of wine with friends at the end of a difficult day. But I think that if you start using it to numb yourself, then it’s only gonna be very temporarily and it’s gonna get worse the day after. These are all dysfunctional coping mechanisms.”
Prof Pariante suggested the same applies to endless scrolling through social media. He said: “It depends why we’re doing it. I suspect most of us, that includes me, we’re doing it because at the moment we don’t want to think of what is worrying us or we don’t want to feel the emotion that we are feeling.
“Am I saying that people should not have 10 minutes of relief by looking at a mobile phone? Of course not, in the same way that people could have the glass of wine. [But] if it’s becoming being drunk every night or not interacting with your family or with your friends because you’re constantly on your phone, then you need to ask yourself ‘What am I avoiding in my mind by putting all my attention on the glass or on the phone or whatever it is?'”
“The principles of wanting to use all of the strategies, whatever works for us to numb our emotions, are the same across all of this. So we need to try to understand how we’re using it. Are we using it in a healthy way that is acceptable? Are we using it in an unhealthy way?”
Many will recognise the challenge of achieving restful sleep during periods of stress, and how this can develop into a destructive cycle. Prof Pariante outlined several approaches to tackle this issue.
He explained: “I think most of the time a kind of compassionate waiting, accepting this is a difficult time, accepting that there will be some difficult nights for sleeping, and try to minimise things that are disrupting us.”
He recommended reducing screen exposure, maintaining a regular bedtime routine and engaging in activities such as reading or “whatever helps us relax”. He added: “That’s probably the best strategy. Once it becomes a problem that you cannot work out, or it goes beyond just the discomfort of not sleeping, then that’s when you need to ask kind of professional advice or help. And of course, there are more specific psychological interventions you can do. I’m not saying that people should take medication for sleeping problems, and certainly when they do, they usually recommend it only for like a week or so, just to go through the acute phase.”
While cortisol is frequently referred to as “the stress hormone”, it is in fact a steroid hormone playing a vital role in numerous bodily processes, including immune function, metabolism, and blood pressure regulation. During stressful circumstances, the body releases adrenaline and cortisol.
When short-term stress subsides, cortisol levels drop and your body returns to its usual state. However, prolonged stress keeps your stress response in overdrive and can take a serious toll on your health over time.
Those who experience persistently elevated cortisol levels, a condition known as Cushing’s syndrome, may present with a range of symptoms, including weight gain, high blood pressure, mood swings, and signs of anxiety or depression.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
