Shutterstock
It’s the day before Thanksgiving, which means millions of people will flock to the nearest liquor store to stock up on all of the booze they’ll need in order to deal with members of their extended family— which will probably include a bottle or two of the hard stuff that they’ll sneak out into the garage to drink in order to avoid being judged. However, a recent study shows you might want to rethink that strategy if you’re looking to avoid getting a bit too worked up when some asshole intent on killing the mood insists you tell him about how you feel about the country’s current political climate.
A group of researcher recently dug deep into statistics compiled by the Global Drug Study, which examines the drinking habits of people around the world. Their goal was to examine how different types of alcohol affect people’s emotions, and based on their results, there’s a reason drinking half of bottle of Jose Cuervo in a single sitting makes you want to punch inanimate objects.
Here’s Forbes’ summary of the results:
50% of participants report[ed] that beer made them feel relaxed. Liquor was the least likely to be linked to feeling relaxed—only 20% of the participants said they felt more relaxed after drinking it.
But hard liquor was linked to fierier emotions: 30% of people said liquor made them feel aggression (red wine was the least connected to that feeling, at 3%). Almost 60% of the participants said liquor made them feel energetic and confident. And 43% of people associated liquor with feeling sexy.
I’m glad there’s finally a scientific explanation for why guys rip shots before summoning up the courage to walk up to a woman who’s way out of their league.
Feeling more chill isn’t the only benefit that comes with drinking beer. Other studies have shown a cold one (or five) stimulates a part of the brain that makes you feel happier and can even help your ability to speak a foreign language (even though there’s a chance the bartender will cut you off if you decide to order by saying “Una cerveza por favor”).
I’m not saying you shouldn’t pick up a couple of nips to down in the bathroom tomorrow, but if you want to avoid a drunken confrontation with your slighty racist grandmother, you might want to nurse a six-pack instead.