How alcohol affects moods in men and women

A new study has revealed that alcohol effects differ in men and women, as gender may influence which emotions drive heavy drinkers to drink, and how they feel the next day.

But the study also showed that neither men nor women who drink heavily effectively drown their sorrows with alcohol, Fox News reported.

Valerie S. Harder, lead author of the study, said that some people say they want to use alcohol to improve their mood, and that's not what we found happening.

For men, anger drove drinking.

According to Harder's findings, a man who felt angry was more likely to drink the next day than a man who didn't feel as angry.

Happiness and sadness were the other two emotions recorded in the study, and the researchers found that neither had particular sway as a trigger for drinking in one gender over the other.

Then, the researchers looked at how drinking affected participants' moods.

Harder and her colleagues guessed that people would report less anger or sadness after drinking, and more happiness a day after drinking. But the data showed the opposite.

Harder, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont said that in fact, it works the other way.

People report less happiness as they use more alcohol, she said.

Both men and women reported feeling less happy the day after drinking, but the effect was much stronger for women.

The study is published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.