The Link Between Alcohol and Heart Rate Variability

Monitoring HRV to help you make healthier choices.

Image by Panerai from Pixabay

Today marks the 5th anniversary of my taking a daily HRV reading. That's a 1,827-day measuring streak. About 500 days ago, I posted a couple of articles on Substack about HRV and how to improve it.

But today, I want to dive deep into one specific aspect of HRV measurement.

Does alcohol affect Heart Rate Variability? (and why should I care?)

There is a growing body of evidence that heart rate and, therefore, heart rate variability is impacted by alcohol use but for now….

It’s Friday night. It’s been a looong week!

The pasta sauce bubbles away on the stove, filling the kitchen with a comforting aroma of fresh herbs.

Hubby goes to the wine cellar (really a cupboard under the stairs) to find a bottle of wine to pair with dinner. Uncorked, it begs to be poured into a stemless glass.

I find a chilled Spotify playlist to soothe away the stress.

Aah! That’s better. Now I can relax over dinner, mull over the week just gone and plan the weekend. Sounds perfect.

Dinner progresses nicely; the conversation deepens, and the second glass of red is poured almost unnoticed.

Seems so harmless. I deserve it. I don’t drink on 'school nights', just a couple on weekends!

And, there is ample advice that a glass of red or two is part of a Mediterranean diet, so it must be good for me. Just living the good life and getting my serve of polyphenols.

What is happening?

We all know that alcohol has a powerful effect on our mood and mental state. The first glass of wine goes down so smoothly. We relax. Inhibitions lower. Self-consciousness and shyness disappear as the central nervous system winds down for the week.

Is the body lulled into a false sense of well-being?

Let’s step back for a minute and think about what’s really happening.

Well, while I am enjoying my dinner, small amounts of alcohol are being absorbed into my system via my mouth and tongue.

The mellow glow takes hold. All is good with the world.

The stomach then gets to work and absorbs around 20 per cent of the alcohol as it passes. I can be a little pleased with myself for eating food with my wine as it slows everything down, allowing a stomach enzyme to break down more alcohol before it moves into the small intestine.

However, it escapes to my bloodstream from the small intestine, and my body starts working hard to remove it.

The meal slows the progress, but the small intestine absorbs 75 to 85 per cent into the bloodstream. The arteries and veins now transport this alcohol-laden blood around the body, looking for a dumping ground.

Alcohol makes the blood vessels dilate, i.e. get larger. Therefore, the heart must pump more blood to keep the same amount circulating. It has to beat harder and faster to keep up. Pulse rate is up.

The body steps into high gear.

Ten per cent is also exiting through skin, urine and breath. Visits to the toilet account for some of it, and I am breathing it out as well. That’s why the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) would fire up a breathalyser if I weren’t so sensible!

It’s moving quickly around the body now, in the bloodstream heading to the liver.

The liver engages. It hits the alarm button. It drops everything else it was doing to take care of this poison coming its way.

The liver stops glucose production to detox the poison. Blood sugar is dropping. At least your meal is making it easier for the liver to get this job done. Just as well you didn’t go out after work for drinks on an empty stomach!!

And the heart is working overtime to keep all the systems going.

Just how hard?

Research at Oktoberfest (how do you get a gig on this research project??) found that increasing levels of BAC correlate with increasing heart rate. In 25% of young participants, heart rates were over 100 beats per minute.

Thanks to a 2016 study, we also know that HRV is inversely correlated to heart rate. As heart rate goes up, HRV reduces.

So, yes, alcohol does affect HRV!

I conducted a little experiment (N=1) for myself. See my results below.

You do know it’s a poison, don’t you?

What exactly is alcohol?

Alcohol is one of the most popular psychoactive substances in the world.

Alcohol and its metabolite (breakdown product) acetaldehyde are classified as Group 1 carcinogens (cancer-causing agents), with the highest carcinogen rating, equal to tobacco smoke and asbestos.

Wait a minute. If this is true…

Why are we so connected to alcohol?

According to National Geographic, we have a 9000-year love affair with booze. A predisposition to consume alcohol may have come from our primate ancestors, tempted from the trees by rotting fruit. It had a strong odour making it easier to find, it was easy to digest and absorb precious calories, and it had antiseptic qualities to repel unwanted microbes.

Archaeology shows evidence that from the dawn of civilisation, our ancestors produced alcohol. Humans fermented everything from fruit and grains to horse milk if there was no fruit or grain. Patrick McGovern, Pennsylvania biomolecular archaeologist notes: ‘There’s good evidence from all over the world that alcoholic beverages are important to human culture.’

He argues that its mind-altering features may have inspired creativity for the evolution of arts, language and religion.

It is even reported that hunter-gatherers may have settled down and grown crops more for beer production than bread! Sounds about right!

We also know from our history lessons that beer was safer and healthier to drink than water in the middle ages.

And, of course, yeasts make more than ethanol. It’s all those B Vitamins – folic acid, niacin, thiamine and riboflavin that were healthy. It’s been noted that beer was a sort of enriched bread.

At the end of the day, alcohol lowers our inhibitions. It makes us feel good. Ethanol releases serotonin, dopamine and endorphins making us happy and less anxious. We bond with friends over a tipple.

Contrast this with the disturbing truth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that alcohol abuse kills 88,000 Americans and costs $249 billion a year.

Where did we go wrong?

Despite a genetic mutation 10 million years ago that created an enzyme to make it possible to digest ethanol 40 times faster, in more recent times, we have escalated our alcohol consumption from ‘a satisfied glow’ to ‘out of control’.

The facts

The internet abounds with mixed messages on alcohol. However, I was surprised that most articles address the detrimental health implications of dangerous alcohol consumption rather than any problems that may come with light to moderate use.

While a 2001 study outlines benefits in preventing atherogenesis (clogged arteries) and Mayo Clinic suggests an antioxidant component of red wine is associated with a lowering of cholesterol and reduced risk of heart disease, neither advocates prescribing alcohol to treat cardiovascular disease.

Science Daily also report that ‘One drink of either red wine or alcohol slightly benefits the heart and blood vessels, but the positive effects on specific biological markers disappear with two drinks.’

Most research on the effects of alcohol in recent times addresses the potential for high blood pressure (hypertension), which puts a strain on the heart.

Back to the Oktoberfest research and Dr Moritz Sinner said: “We cannot yet conclude that a higher heart rate induced by alcohol is harmful. But people with heart conditions already have a higher heart rate, which in many cases triggers arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation. So, it is plausible that the higher heart rate following alcohol consumption could lead to arrhythmias.”

The authors also speculate that alcohol creates an imbalance between the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous systems.

HRV monitoring measures this imbalance between the two branches of the autonomic nervous system – the sympathetic and parasympathetic.

How much is too much?

The CDC indicates one standard drink per day for women and two per day for men of legal drinking age. However, they also suggest that people who do not drink should not start drinking for any reason.

The effects of drinking alcohol vary widely between people…

Are you:

• A weekend tippler

• One a night with dinner

• More than one a night

• Much more!

• A holiday drinker - Seasonal binge drinking – Thanksgiving to New Year, Summer holidays all correlate with increased levels of alcohol. Most Americans are not aware of what high-risk drinking looks like and are lulled into a false sense of security regarding limits.

• A college student – College and University campus events are known for binge drinking episodes in the name of rituals.

• Getting older – comes with a reduced tolerance to alcohol.

• Male or Female – even the guidelines treat men and women differently.

• Do you have good muscle mass – to process the alcohol?

• Do you have underlying conditions – existing heart disease or other lifestyle conditions will affect current tolerance to alcohol?

• So, the wide research tells us a lot about the population in general. However, what does that mean for YOU and ME?

Know your numbers?

How do we know what is right for us, individually?

In the same way, a personal breathalyser informs us – Drive or NOT Drive, an EliteHRV monitor spells out exactly what is happening to your heart as you drink alcohol, eat certain foods, exercise or meditate.

Over time, it tells the truth about your underlying health and fitness.

You may be shocked into action!

I have measured my HRV for five years, so I know my baseline numbers.

Recently, I decided to test my HRV with alcohol. I took a one-minute reading every half hour for three hours before and after a meal with one glass of red wine. The graph below shows a rising heart rate as my body processes the one drink and a corresponding drop in HRV.

In addition to the HRV decrease while my body processed ONE glass of red wine, my next morning reading was also down, telling me there are lingering effects of this alcohol in my system from this one drink the next day.

Conclusion

So, alcohol does affect heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV).

While I have enjoyed my fair share of excellent meals paired with fine wines over the years, this research forces me to question whether I can still enjoy my one glass of red or whether it will impact my longevity.

In addition, EliteHRV monitoring is not just for checking responses to alcohol and…

It’s not just for athletes.

At 67, my focus is on healthy aging. As HRV naturally declines with age, I want to stay on top of what is happening and take immediate action to prevent the decline as much as possible.

Instead of waiting for a visit to a physician to run a series of tests, I know every day what is happening and can make subtle adjustments to diet, exercise and habits to maintain health and vitality.

After all, HRV is a measure of how much life we have in us! Do we want to waste a minute?

My favourite Substack reads of the week:

Risks and Regrets by Don Akchin, The Endgame

How to Treat ‘Pulled Muscles’ by Mike Nelson, Mike’s Home Exercise

Owning our Wanting by Elise Loehnen, Pulling the Thread