Popular reasons for drinking alcohol

8 out of 10 people aged 18 and older drink alcohol (sometimes). And everyone has their own reason for that. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) conducted a survey for 2022 among 3700 people and asked, among other things, why someone drinks alcohol. Below you can read which reasons were mentioned most often.

75 percent of adults who drink alcohol do so because they like it. Drinking because it's fun is also a frequently mentioned reason (62 percent). 10 percent drink alcohol because it loosens them up at parties. Other reasons are also mentioned, such as: to deal better with stress and emotions (5.9 percent), to get tipsy/drunk (5.7 percent), because it is part of the job (4.7 percent) or to better to sleep (3,4). There is a small percentage that drink 'because it is healthy' (2 percent). Source: cbs.nl.

Reasons such as 'to cope better with stress' and 'to sleep better' are reasons that can be discussed.

Drink alcohol to forget your worries

Suppose you are having a bad day. Your manager is not satisfied, your partner is not feeling well, you feel lonely or whatever. Then it can be nice to drink a glass of alcohol. And another one. And another one. Before you know it, the bottle is empty. Slowly you forget your bad day, because you get intoxicated by the alcohol. You may even feel equally satisfied or happy. This is because, thanks to drinking alcohol, endorphins are produced. Also called the happiness hormone. The endorphins produced are sent by the brain to different parts of the body.

More, more, more

You can imagine that you want to experience this feeling of happiness more often. Especially when you suffer from stress, gloomy showers or are dealing with major setbacks. Every time you drink, you forget about your problems or your stressed feeling fades into the background and you release endorphins. You experience your problems or stress as less intense and you feel a bit better (you think). Before you know it you need alcohol on a daily basis to forget the day and your worries and to experience a certain feeling of happiness. What you don't realize is that you actually crave a shot of endorphins.

Sleep better thanks to alcohol?

Many people fall asleep easily after drinking alcohol. That drink just before going to sleep is relaxing, cozy and even helps you fall asleep faster. All advantages. But here's the thing: that drink is helpful at the start of your night but breaks you up during the night. Alcohol really messes up your sleep cycle.

The Sleep Cycle

The sleep cycle works like this: sleep consists of dream sleep (REM sleep) and regular, deep sleep (NREM sleep). During the night, our body goes through the cycle several times a night. Your body starts with NREM sleep, then moves on to REM sleep and back to NREM sleep. A sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes. Drinking alcohol before going to sleep increases deep sleep and decreases the amount of dream sleep.

Wrong order

Drinking alcohol also has an effect on the order of your sleep cycle. Alcohol causes the first deep sleep (REM sleep) to be brought to the fore. This means that you dream earlier and the brain has to process all the information and impressions of that day faster. The second part of the night, REM sleep takes place much later, overloading the brain. Because the deep sleep does not take place proportionally, sleeping problems occur. Such as sleepwalking, talking in your sleep and sleep apnea. In addition, there is an increased risk of intense dreams or nightmares.