Sharper Mind After Alcohol Comedown?

[Prosper]

Every time I get drunk and sober up from it, I become significantly more fluent in speech & thinking compared to my normal cognitive baseline. It's like my thought processes become clearer and more precise and it's easier to instantly find the right words and juggle abstract thoughts.

What could explain this and how could I replicate this without having to drink alcohol? Could it have something to do with glutamate & NMDA?

 

[bmoores]

I've experienced something similar after I started eating for high metabolism. Alcohol interferes with heme production and might alleviate carbon monoxide issues for cancer. I suspect drinking a lot of alcohol can also kill gut bacteria and lower endotoxin. No idea if this are why I get brain clarity or if it's another mechanism...

 

[LeeLemonoil]

Experienced similar effects, especially on mornings/days after moderate heavy drinking during late teen years/early twenties. Calmer yet sharper mind, enhanced verbal fluency. Nowadays, mid-thirtie, I hardly drink and don't experience these effects so pronouncend anymore.
It's probably a hormetic answer on slight brain poisioning. BDNF increase etc. repair mechanisms

 

[frant26]

Interesting! I experienced the same. Even super tired on hangover days I felt mentally more sharp than usual. So weird. I always attributed that to the alcohol-induced state of relaxation.

 

[Waynish]

I get this too... I think it is killing bacteria/fungi in the stomach and/or small intestine. The relief people feel when they first start drinking is due to poor sugar metabolism, so they start getting energy from ethanol instead.

 

[Prosper]

Killing of gut bacteria is an interesting theory. I wonder if there is a legitimate way to make that state a norm or at least semi permanent?

Although this is a somewhat subjective statement, I feel more like myself, or how life is "supposed to feel like", in that state compared to when I haven't drunk anything, even though I don't drink often.

Perhaps @haidut knows?

 

[Waynish]

Well I think alcohol will always be a dependency if used to kill gut bacteria (especially since it can increase leaky gut, it can become a circular dependency). We have to increase stomach acid, wipe out old infections, and keep metabolism high enough that new infections don't creep up into the small intestine -- and how to do this, I'm still trying to figure out since I think I still have SIBO.
I'm back onto trying higher dose cypro to achieve this.

 

[zztr]

Alcohol has a bunch of neurotransmitter and brain effects. It's just tweaking your brain. I don't think it's some metabolic or anti-bacterial thing.

 

[haidut]

Alcohol is a GABA agonist, so after its effects wear off the result can be a bit of enhanced recall and verbal fluency. If done not every day it can be helpful but if it become habitual the rebound effects can lead to excitotoxicity and even seizures from diminished GABA sensitivity. Also, alcohol is a TLR4 agonist and am not sure it kills bacteria. There is no doubt that alcohol raises serotonin and acts like endotoxin (through TLR4) with a mild dopaminergic effects mostly from the social disinhibition it produces. It is a bit of a painkiller and due to its cortisol inducing effects it can act like a potent anti-inflammatory for a brief period, combined with muscle relaxing effects. So, overall the first few hours of alcohol drinking can feel pretty good minus the speech slurring and slowing thinking due to GABA agonist. Upon sobering up, if there was no abuse, you can get some mental clarity and improved recall but done chronically it will have the opposite effect eventually. And of course, in the long run due to the endotoxin/sertonin mechanisms alcohol leas to fibrosis in a number of organs/tissues, most notably the liver, intsestines and sometimes spleen, or kidneys.

 

[Waynish]

Alcohol is a GABA agonist, so after its effects wear off the result can be a bit of enhanced recall and verbal fluency. If done not every day it can be helpful but if it become habitual the rebound effects can lead to excitotoxicity and even seizures from diminished GABA sensitivity. Also, alcohol is a TLR4 agonist and am not sure it kills bacteria. There is no doubt that alcohol raises serotonin and acts like endotoxin (through TLR4) with a mild dopaminergic effects mostly from the social disinhibition it produces. It is a bit of a painkiller and due to its cortisol inducing effects it can act like a potent anti-inflammatory for a brief period, combined with muscle relaxing effects. So, overall the first few hours of alcohol drinking can feel pretty good minus the speech slurring and slowing thinking due to GABA agonist. Upon sobering up, if there was no abuse, you can get some mental clarity and improved recall but done chronically it will have the opposite effect eventually. And of course, in the long run due to the endotoxin/sertonin mechanisms alcohol leas to fibrosis in a number of organs/tissues, most notably the liver, intsestines and sometimes spleen, or kidneys.

True, but if vodka can be used to sterilize wounds, then I don't see why it can't have temporary relief on the gut... I think the temporary (and even partial) relief from internal infections is why many turn back to the bottle regularly.

 

[haidut]

True, but if vodka can be used to sterilize wounds, then I don't see why it can't have temporary relief on the gut... I think the temporary (and even partial) relief from internal infections is why many turn back to the bottle regularly.

Because the alcohol is probably not reaching your colon in unmetabolized form to have a sterilizing effect like it has on the wound. It gets absorbed in the stomach and small intestine. The relief people get is probably the brief anti-inflammatory effect and then it flares up even worse.

 

[LeeLemonoil]

Agree. I actually experienced short-term inflammation reducing after party-drinking as a teen with slight acne. Face cleared up just to worsen 2 or 3 days later.

And yes, no sterilizing effect from ingested booze in the intestine.

 

[EIRE24]

Agree. I actually experienced short-term inflammation reducing after party-drinking as a teen with slight acne. Face cleared up just to worsen 2 or 3 days later.

And yes, no sterilizing effect from ingested booze in the intestine.

This has been my experience also