Are you drinking too much to cope with stress?

When times get tough, maybe you have a beer or a glass of wine to help you deal. Maybe you have two, or even three. Maybe you believe drinking helps to ease your mind and relax tense muscles.

You’re not alone. Many people use alcohol to blow off steam and help manage stress. But turning to alcohol to calm your nerves or cope with stressful situations is risky—and it may do more harm than good.

It’s not a risk-free solution

Initially, drinking may help you “take the edge off,” but this sensation is fleeting. Alcohol is a depressant that slows the central nervous system. Drinking affects everything from your judgment and emotions to your coordination, speech, hearing and vision.

Using alcohol to help deal with uncertainty or strain increases the risks for alcohol-related mental and physical health issues, including dependence.

Essentially, drinking to cope with stressful times or events could backfire, cautions Julie Shafer, PhD, a clinical psychologist based in Portland, Oregon. “You risk it interfering with your health and your relationships, it’s going to impact your sleep—and that’s going to make it even harder to cope,” she explains.

Why alcohol may hurt—not help

When you’re worried, it’s important to take steps to ease your mind and protect your health. This can include getting physical activity, sleeping adequately, and finding relaxation techniques that work for you. Drinking, particularly heavy alcohol consumption, can have the opposite effect on your well-being. Here's why.

It takes a toll on your body’s natural defenses

Heavy drinking has long been linked to a dampened immune system and slower recovery from injury and infection. It increases the risk of developing infections, including respiratory infections like pneumonia and acute respiratory stress syndromes (ARDS).

It can disrupt your sleep

If you’re already tossing and turning due to worries, alcohol won’t help you get the rest you need. It can make you feel drowsy, but it isn’t a sleep aid. Drinking can actually have the opposite effect, resulting in disrupted, poor-quality sleep.

When you have a drink or two before bedtime, it could interfere with your natural body clock or circadian rhythms. Altering your normal sleep-wake cycle could cause you to wake up earlier than usual.

Drinking can also interrupt rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is the most restorative phase of sleep. If your REM sleep is disrupted, you’re not going to feel as refreshed or sharp the next day.

Alcohol could affect your breathing, as well, since it relaxes your throat muscles. This can increase the risk of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that interrupts your breathing when upper airway blockages hamper airflow.

Drinking also suppresses a hormone, called anti-diuretic hormone (ADH), causing your body to make more urine than usual. So, if you’ve been drinking late in the day or in the evening, you’ll likely have to wake up and use the bathroom during the night.

You’re more likely to injure yourself

Alcohol is absorbed quickly by your body; it can start to have an effect within minutes. It’s one of the few substances that can be absorbed through the stomach. From there, it goes right into your bloodstream to your liver, and then to your brain.

Even one or two drinks can have almost immediate effects on your judgment. The more you drink, the more your coordination, balance and decision-making skills will be affected, increasing your risk for injuries such as falls or burns.

You may hurt someone else

While not all cases of domestic violence involve alcohol, drinking increases your risk for being involved in violent situations, including intimate partner violence, such as rape or verbal and physical abuse. In fact, alcohol plays a role in up to two-thirds of all homicides, at least half of serious assaults, and more than one-quarter of all rapes.

Your long-term health still matters

Stressful times may tempt you to abandon your healthy habits and goals.

In a landmark August 2018 study published in The Lancet, researchers reviewed more than 1,000 existing data sources and studies to estimate the effects of alcohol on the risk for 23 different related health issues. These included cancer, high blood pressure, and stroke as well as car accidents and injuries. Using mathematical models, the team found that alcohol was tied to 2.8 million deaths in 2016 and was the leading risk factor for disease worldwide among people between 15 and 49 years old.

So, is alcohol off-limits?

Not necessarily. The answer to that question really depends on you—your age, sex, DNA, lifestyle and other individual risk factors for cancer and chronic diseases. These personal variables all factor into the dangers associated with drinking.

Overall, the more you drink, the greater their risk for a number of serious health issues, including cancer, liver disease, atrial fibrillation, and stroke.

You also shouldn’t drink with the idea that your beer or cocktail will offer certain health benefits. And some people should not drink any alcohol, including those who are pregnant, those with a personal or family history of alcoholism, and those with a history of alcohol-related liver or pancreatic disease.

Generally, speaking if you don’t drink, it’s best not to start. Avoiding alcohol entirely is ideal, as even light drinking can lead to health issues, including an increased risk of some cancers. If you decide to drink, don’t exceed current guidelines for light or moderate drinking. If you’re a man, that means you shouldn’t have more than two drinks daily. If you’re a woman, limit yourself to no more than one drink per day.

In the United States, a single drink contains 0.6 fl ounces or 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is the equivalent of 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer or 1.5 ounces (a shot) of liquor, such as gin, vodka, tequila or whiskey.

Keep in mind, many people exceed these portions, but still think they’ve had one drink. Different types of beer, wine and liquor also contain different amounts of alcohol.

Finding other ways to cope

If you’re feeling down or depressed, it’s best to steer clear of alcohol and not self-medicate with other substances. In stressful times, there are other ways you can stay connected, boost your mood, and find healthy ways to cope.

Shafer suggests sticking to your routine and healthy habits as much as possible. That includes maintaining a consistent bedtime, eating a healthy diet, and keeping up with household chores. Staying active is key, too—even if it means some extra trips up the stairs or a walk around your yard.

If you’re feeling like you need extra help, reach out to a healthcare provider (HCP). An HCP can recommend strategies to ease your mind without alcohol and connect you with additional resources—including mental health professionals—to help you manage your feelings.