Source: PixabayAs the holidays approach and we all prepare to overindulge in both food and drink, a recent study sheds light on how different types of alcohol might produce different emotional responses ranging from relaxed to aggressive.

Published in the online journal BMJ Open, researchers found that through the world’s largest online anonymous survey that selecting among beer, wine and spirits could fuel different feelings.

The survey questions focused on what those feelings might be with 30,000 responses from people between the ages of 18 and 34 from 21 different countries.

Among the findings:

• Fifty-three percent of wine drinkers felt more relaxed when drinking wine than those drinking spirits (20 percent) and beer (50 percent)
• Thirty percent of those drinking spirits reported experiencing more negative feelings than those who drank wine or beer.
• Yet, 59 percent of spirit drinkers also reported feeling more energetic and confident compared with their wine and beer drinking counterparts

Although the findings were anonymous, researchers report the answers differed according to gender, frequency of drinking and setting among other factors.

Ultimately, the researchers believe that: "Understanding emotions associated with alcohol consumption is imperative to addressing alcohol misuse, providing insight into what emotions influence drink choice between different groups in the population."