{"id":539,"date":"2023-01-19T10:04:53","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T09:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/?p=539"},"modified":"2024-06-26T15:37:06","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T13:37:06","slug":"alcohol-and-hrv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/?p=539","title":{"rendered":"Alcohol and HRV"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The effect of alcohol can be clearly seen in the HRV metrics after a heavy night of drinking. The impact is astonishing.<\/p>\n<p>Although the RMSSD numbers drop dramatically, they do bounce back after a couple of days. That may give the impression that avoiding heavy drinking is the solution, and that moderate consumption is fine.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s wrong. Recent research conducted on a sample of 36,678 people in the UK confirms that even moderate drinking leads to diminished brain size.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_539_1('footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_1');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_539_1('footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_1');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_539_1_1\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-022-28735-5\">Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_539_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Alcohol is a poison.<\/strong> Just that it\u2019s one we enjoy. How it kills us, bit by bit and how it impacts the normal functions of the body makes for disturbing reading.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_539_1('footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_2');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_539_1('footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_2');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[2]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_539_1_2\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/10\/3\/541\">Gut Microbiota at the Intersection of Alcohol, Brain, and the Liver<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_539_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script> It causes liver disease which <strong>accounts for more than 4% of deaths worldwide<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Key to understanding alcohol abuse disorder (AUD) is the factor of tolerance. Many people think that because they can handle their drink, they don\u2019t have a problem. They are the one\u2019s who have the biggest problem.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_539_1('footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_3');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_539_1('footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_3');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_3\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[3]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_539_1_3\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S009130572100054X?via%3Dihub\">Tolerance to alcohol: A critical yet understudied factor in alcohol addiction<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_539_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Moderate drinking also leads to an increased risk of breast cancer.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_539_1('footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_4');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_539_1('footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_4');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_4\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[4]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_539_1_4\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/10.1056\/NEJM198705073161902?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&amp;rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&amp;rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed\">Moderate Alcohol Consumption and the Risk of Breast Cancer<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_539_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script> <strong>Drinking is almost as dangerous as smoking!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So, why do we drink? In this fascinating video, Dr. Andrew Huberman covers the science behind how the brain and body respond to alcohol, and who the people are that are predisposed towards alcoholism, binge and habit-drinking. Spoiler alert: it\u2019s not only the people who have a genetic disposition towards drinking.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_539_1('footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_5');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_539_1('footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_5');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_5\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[5]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_539_1_5\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hubermanlab.com\/what-alcohol-does-to-your-body-brain-health\/\">What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain &amp; Health | Huberman Lab Podcast #86<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_539_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script>.<\/p>\n<p>There are video markers that allow you to skip to the parts that interest you most.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain &amp; Health | Huberman Lab Podcast #86\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DkS1pkKpILY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, we see the benefits of alcohol abstinence in the HRV metrics. It takes a little while, within a couple of weeks you will see an improvement in your numbers across the board. Your RMSSD figures will go up, and stay up. Your stress numbers will go down (refer the Huberman video). Your Poincar\u00e9 ratio will go up. All of these provide incentive as you battle the urge to \u2018have just one&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>We already have some of our users successfully experimenting with alcohol abstinence. <strong>Please let us know when you join them.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>More reading:<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/31365137\/\">Associations Between Drinking and Cortical Thickness in Younger Adult Drinkers: Findings From the Human Connectome Project<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0741832900001245?via%3Dihub\">Can alcohol promote aromatization of androgens to estrogens? A review<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/?p=1449\">How much alcohol is good for you?<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"speaker-mute footnotes_reference_container\"> <div class=\"footnote_container_prepare\"><p><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_label pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_539_1();\">References<\/span><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button\" style=\"display: none;\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_539_1();\">[<a id=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_539_1\">+<\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/div> <div id=\"footnote_references_container_539_1\" style=\"\"><table class=\"footnotes_table footnote-reference-container\"><caption class=\"accessibility\">References<\/caption> <tbody> \r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_539_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_1');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_1\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>1<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-022-28735-5\">Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_539_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_2');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_2\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>2<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/10\/3\/541\">Gut Microbiota at the Intersection of Alcohol, Brain, and the Liver<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_539_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_3');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_3\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>3<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S009130572100054X?via%3Dihub\">Tolerance to alcohol: A critical yet understudied factor in alcohol addiction<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_539_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_4');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_4\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>4<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/10.1056\/NEJM198705073161902?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&amp;rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&amp;rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed\">Moderate Alcohol Consumption and the Risk of Breast Cancer<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_539_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_539_1_5');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_539_1_5\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>5<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/hubermanlab.com\/what-alcohol-does-to-your-body-brain-health\/\">What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain &amp; Health | Huberman Lab Podcast #86<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n <\/tbody> <\/table> <\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> function footnote_expand_reference_container_539_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_539_1').show(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_539_1').text('\u2212'); } function footnote_collapse_reference_container_539_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_539_1').hide(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_539_1').text('+'); } function footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_539_1() { if (jQuery('#footnote_references_container_539_1').is(':hidden')) { footnote_expand_reference_container_539_1(); } else { footnote_collapse_reference_container_539_1(); } } function footnote_moveToReference_539_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_539_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } } function footnote_moveToAnchor_539_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_539_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } }<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The effect of alcohol can be clearly seen in the HRV metrics after a heavy night of drinking. The impact is astonishing. Although the RMSSD numbers drop dramatically, they do bounce back after a couple of days. That may give the impression that avoiding heavy drinking is the solution, and that moderate consumption is fine.&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/?p=539\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Alcohol and HRV<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,39],"tags":[56,13,57],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=539"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1453,"href":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539\/revisions\/1453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrvhealth.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}