Why women get weepy when drunk

160111 BACCHUS’S BABES: ‘There has been an increase in women drinking. And they are into heavier cocktails, which come with a higher liquor content. French vodka, which is one of the most versatile drinks, has become a favourite with many of them,’ says Kgolo Temba, a Durban entertainment consultant.

160111 BACCHUS’S BABES: ‘There has been an increase in women drinking. And they are into heavier cocktails, which come with a higher liquor content. French vodka, which is one of the most versatile drinks, has become a favourite with many of them,’ says Kgolo Temba, a Durban entertainment consultant.

Published Dec 6, 2013

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London - Do you get tearful when drunk? If you’re a woman, then your sex may be to blame. A recent study has found that young women get the booze blues after one too many glasses while men stay cheerful.

Research was carried out on 151 Danish girls and 79 boys, aged 15 to 20, who attended high school parties.

While drinking, the students visited an examination room near the party in one-hour intervals to have their blood alcohol content and levels of cheerfulness, focus distraction, and sluggishness measured.

Alcohol content was measured by a breath analyser, while the participants rated their level of cheerfulness from 0-16, focus distraction from 0-8 and sluggishness from 0-4.

Professor Marie Eliasen, of the University of Southern Denmark, said: “We found that low to moderate alcohol consumption is associated with increased cheerfulness among adolescents attending high school parties.

“Extensive alcohol consumption leading to high blood alcohol content was associated with decreased cheerfulness among girls, while this was not found for boys.”

The professor explained the lack of a dip in cheerfulness in boys with higher alcohol content could be down to a higher alcohol tolerance among males as they binge drank more frequently and generally had a higher weekly alcohol intake than the girls.

To combat this, professor Eliasen recommended that rather than employ scare tactics in public health campaigns, alcohol prevention strategies targeting teens should instead focus on having fun without excessive boozing.

She added: “Our findings of increased focus distraction at high blood alcohol contents stress the importance of reducing excessive alcohol drinking, as increased focus distraction is strongly associated with higher risks of accidents.

“This finding may also work as an argument for parents and clinicians trying to reduce excessive alcohol consumption among adolescents.

“And the finding of a low to moderate blood alcohol content among the majority of the students may be used to challenge the idea that the majority of adolescents drink in excess and thus change adolescents’ own perception of normality, which again may reduce their alcohol consumption.” - Daily Mail

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