Women 'better at holding drink'

Thanks to Ramnath Shenoy.





Women 'better at holding drink'



Some men may not want to hear this - but scientists have found women are
better at holding their drink.


Kentucky University researchers found men's loss of inhibition was three
times greater than women's with the same blood alcohol levels.


Writing in the journal Addiction, they said the finding might explain
why men are more likely to become aggressive.


It found men appeared to become more stimulated after drinking while
women became more relaxed.

The researchers gave 12 men and 12 women, all classed as "social
drinkers" a set amount of alcohol each. They then tested their ability
to hit a button at the right time when a symbol flashed up. Participants
had to hit a green button when a green symbol flashed up. If a blue
symbol appeared, they were told not to hit anything. People became less
able to prevent themselves hitting the green key when a blue symbol
appeared the more drunk they became.


But the men's performance was around three times worse than the women's.


The participants were then asked to evaluate the effect they thought
alcohol had on them, rating how well certain adjectives applied to them.


The men reported levels of stimulation, including aggression, confidence
and loss of inhibition, which were two and a half times higher than
women,
In contrast, the women reported a six times higher level of sedation
than the men.

Writing in Addition, the researchers led by psychologist Dr Mark
Fillimore, said: "The gender
difference in response inhibition could reflect differences in
alcohol-induced arousal in men and women. "Men reported increased
stimulation and women reported increased sedation in response to
alcohol."


They added: "Evidence that men report greater stimulation than women
could reflect a basic gender difference in the degree to which alcohol
increases arousal that might also contribute to disinhibited
behaviour."


The team suggested that biological and psychological differences could
explain why men and women respond to alcohol differently.

"Social and cultural learning cannot be ruled out as a causal factor.
For example, men and women differ in the types of effects that they
expect from alcohol, and such expectations could influence behaviour
under the drug."

Dr Fillimore added: "There is a general supposition that women don't
hold their liquor very well but our results show that it is men who
become uninhibited and get a high more quickly."

Jim Orford, professor of psychology at Birmingham University, told the
Sunday Times newspaper:
"Women on average are entering drinking situations a bit more
cautiously, whereas men have less reservation about how they are going
to behave, with more expectation that they're going to get stimulated."

He added: "If men go out in order to feel stimulated - they're 'up for
it' - then they're going to feel more stimulated. If women are going out
in order to relax, then at the same blood-alcohol level they're going to
feel more relaxed and sedated."

A spokeswoman for Alcohol Concern told BBC News Online: "We need to see
more evidence to back these conclusions up."


Sudz inference :

so the men who walk straight and drive straight aftur a drink are less
macho and more feminine and therefore more eligible to face the glass
ceiling..........and if "thats" the way women relax aftur a drink then
its safer to be just stimulated........

and women who do 'nautankee' aftur a drink are definately wearing menz
underwear..........

are u relaxing or am I stimulated ???? .............oooooo the futility
of this existence

sudz