From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/healthtips/s-346374-904726
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (UPI) -- A U.S. study of emotional and
alcohol-craving responses to stress found that when men become upset,
they are more likely than women to want alcohol.
First author Tara M. Chaplin of Yale University School of Medicine and
colleagues exposed 27 women and 27 men -- healthy adult social
drinkers -- to three types of imagery scripts described as stressful,
alcohol-related and neutral/relaxing -- in separate sessions, on
separate days and in random order. The researcher then assessed
participants' subjective emotions, behavioral/bodily responses,
cardiovascular arousal as indicated by heart rate and blood pressure
and self-reported alcohol craving.
"After listening to the stressful story, women reported more sadness
and anxiety than men, as well as greater behavioral arousal," Chaplin
said in a statement. "But for the men … emotional arousal was linked
to increases in alcohol craving. In other words, when men are upset,
they are more likely to want alcohol."
The findings, scheduled to be published in the July issue of
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research but available online,
said men had greater blood pressure response to stress, but did not
report greater sadness and anxiety, may reflect that they are more
likely to try to distract themselves from their physiological arousal,
possibly through the use of alcohol.