This essay will look at the ways in which alcohol causes people to develop greater feelings of happiness by looking at existing scientific research into the link between alcohol and the release of endorphins. This essay will also review the potential that using alcohol to feel happiness could lead to addiction through creating a dependency.
For a long time, researchers have theorized that alcohol stimulates endorphins to be released in the brain. Endorphins are neurotransmitters that are naturally produced in brain cells, they produce feelings of pleasure and reward. This explains why when people drink alcohol they report feeling happier. Since the brain is rewarded with these endorphins every time alcohol is consumed, it effectively teaches the brain that it is a good thing to drink alcohol and you should drink it again to get the same feeling of reward, this can lead to addiction if uncontrolled.
A recent study has been enacted to test the theory that alcohol may stimulate the production of endorphins. Researchers first injected 13 heavy drinkers and 12 nonheavy drinkers with a drug that binds to receptors that are usually used by endorphin in the brain. Before injecting the …show more content…
Therefore it is important that people manage how they drink responsibly as heavier drinkers are likely to experience the chemical changes to the brain caused by alcohol, which ultimately leads to addiction which has detrimental effects to all areas of the drinker’s life both social and professional. It is easy to limit the amount of alcohol consumed on a weekly basis in non-heavy drinkers. However, once they reach the stage of addiction it is much harder to cut down therefore, it is important to consume alcohol only in safe amounts i.e. less than 14 units a
For a long time, researchers have theorized that alcohol stimulates endorphins to be released in the brain. Endorphins are neurotransmitters that are naturally produced in brain cells, they produce feelings of pleasure and reward. This explains why when people drink alcohol they report feeling happier. Since the brain is rewarded with these endorphins every time alcohol is consumed, it effectively teaches the brain that it is a good thing to drink alcohol and you should drink it again to get the same feeling of reward, this can lead to addiction if uncontrolled.
A recent study has been enacted to test the theory that alcohol may stimulate the production of endorphins. Researchers first injected 13 heavy drinkers and 12 nonheavy drinkers with a drug that binds to receptors that are usually used by endorphin in the brain. Before injecting the …show more content…
Therefore it is important that people manage how they drink responsibly as heavier drinkers are likely to experience the chemical changes to the brain caused by alcohol, which ultimately leads to addiction which has detrimental effects to all areas of the drinker’s life both social and professional. It is easy to limit the amount of alcohol consumed on a weekly basis in non-heavy drinkers. However, once they reach the stage of addiction it is much harder to cut down therefore, it is important to consume alcohol only in safe amounts i.e. less than 14 units a