Why Does Red Wine Make You Tired?
‘Red wine makes you tired’ is something you often hear, and that’s also the reason some people prefer drinking white wine or beer instead of Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo or that fantastic Australian Pinot Noir. But why does red wine make you tired, exactly?
Friday nights are no longer made up of drinks that get out of hand, ending with a trip to McDonald’s to wolf down two portions of French fries. Not at all—these days, we (hashtag boring!) sit on the sofa under our pizza blanket watching Netflix, sipping a glass (or let’s just be honest: a bottle) of red wine. And while our lives are far from sparkling these days, after half an hour we can barely keep our eyes open. It must be that red wine, right?
The truth
For everyone now thinking, ‘Damn, red wine always makes me tired too’… we’ll tell you right away that this actually isn’t entirely true. Or, well, there’s no scientific evidence that red wine contains a different substance from white wine that makes you nod off faster. Still, many people recognize the feeling, and this is why:
The study
A 2017 study published by BMJ investigated this phenomenon. 30,000 people from 21 different countries took part in the study. During the research, participants had to drink different types of alcohol, such as red wine, white wine, beer and spirits. They then had to indicate whether they experienced positive feelings such as confidence, energy and relaxation, or instead felt negative emotions such as tiredness, aggression, nausea and restlessness after drinking. The result: more than half of the participants felt tired when drinking red wine.
Spirits
So you’re not the only one who feels tired after drinking red wine. And it’s precisely the word feel that matters here. As mentioned: there is no scientific evidence that red wine is actually more sleep-inducing than white wine. It’s about the feeling you and thousands of other people get when drinking it. If you’re looking for the drink that gives you the most energy (according to 60 percent of participants), you’re better off having a glass of spirits such as this stunning Hennessy X.O or the liqueur Orangecello.
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