Study reveals which people are most likely to experience bad 'hangxiety'

A recent study looked into the sort of people who are more likely to suffer from a bad case of 'hangxiety', that feeling of unease which comes after you've been drinking.

As the name suggests, it's a combination of your hangover and a terrible feeling of anxiety to hit your brain with a really unpleasant cocktail of emotions.

Writing in The Conversation, the study authors explained that in the short term, alcohol can make you feel a bit better as it boosts calming chemicals in your brain and suppresses your alertness, so for a while you might end up more relaxed and less worried about what might be coming your way.

However, alcohol also really screws with the way your brain works and messes with the systems which regulate your mood, so once your body starts dealing with the alcohol in your system, it swings round the other way.

Rebecca Rothman and Blair Aitken of Swinburne University of Technology explained that the problems with sleep, dehydration and blood sugar levels alcohol gives you also contribute to the feelings of hangxiety.

Many people suffer from 'hangxiety', but a study indicates some people are more vulnerable (Getty Stock Photo)

Their new study analysed research involving over 6,000 people worldwide, and they found that some people were more likely to have a bad case of hangxiety after drinking.

The scientists found that people 'prone to anxiety or low mood' or someone who would 'drink to cope with stress' would find themselves more likely to suffer from hangxiety.

Since alcohol temporarily dulls your bad feelings, the swing back the other way hits harder if you were already feeling stressed or low before you started drinking.

In their study, the researchers found that feeling bad after drinking didn't make them turn away from alcohol, instead, they saw a hangover as a 'rite of passage' and in some cases, could even kickstart another drinking cycle.

They explained that especially among those who try to use alcohol to deal with stress, it could be particularly nasty as the harsh hangxiety might prompt them to drink again to take the edge off, which would then give them another hangover.

And it turns out certain drinks could also be to blame for the severity of your hangover.

You don't want to try and drink to skip the hangover (Getty Stock Photo)

Another study on the worst types of alcohol to drink for hangxiety found that dark spirits were among the worst offenders, with the effect they have on your blood alcohol levels potentially leading 'to more pronounced rebound anxiety'.

Red wine is another problem as it can cause both tyramine and histamines, which may lead to anxiety, while sugary cocktails add more substances which play on your mood into the mix.

The best advice is for people to stay hydrated and avoid 'hair of the dog' remedies which would just kick the hangover further down the road.