Why Does Champagne Make You Drunk Faster?

A party is not complete without a few bottles of sparkling wine or simply, champagne. It looks elegant when poured on glass and gives the sensation of tipsiness – fast. 

After having two glasses of your favorite champagne, don’t be surprised if you feel like you are walking on air. Some people also feel dizzy and happy, just like any alcoholic drink will do. 

The difference between champagne and the rest is that it works very fast. One minute you will be having a sober conversation with your spouse and the next, staggering on the floor if you go too fast on your sips.

So, why does champagne make you drunk faster?

It’s All About Carbon Dioxide

The rate at which you get drunk after consuming alcoholic drinks depends on how fast or slow your body absorbs the drink’s alcohol. 

If your body manages to absorb alcohol fast, you will get drunk more quickly.

Ideally, alcohol gets into your system via the small intestine. The alcohol component’s molecule is tiny and can be absorbed through the stomach, albeit more slowly. Sometimes the molecule starts breaking down as it sits in the stomach.

While all drinks with particular alcoholic contents will give you positive vibes at one point or another, those with carbon dioxide tend to get the job done faster. It increases your biomembranes’ permeability

This means that any alcoholic beverage with carbon dioxide stimulates blood circulation in the mucus membranes, including the oral cavity, stomach, and small intestines. 

When the body experiences a good circulation, more alcohol enters the bloodstream and into the brain.

In addition to increasing the absorption rate of alcohol, the presence of carbon dioxide also leads to a feeling of dizziness. As it turns out, this is because the CO2 competes with oxygen in your central nervous system. What this means is that your brain will have less oxygen than it needs. 

Ultimately, its function will be compromised, with the common symptom being dizziness and lightheadedness.

Please note that it is not the fuzz in the champagne that takes you on an instant high. Otherwise, gulping down a full bottle of Coke would deliver the same feeling. It is the mixture of carbon dioxide and alcohol that produces the results. Ideally, the more bubbles you have in your drink, the higher the carbon dioxide content in there, and the faster your brain needs to get you drunk.

How to Offset the Effects of Sparkling Wine

Drinking just two glasses of champagne all night or all afternoon seems unrealistic. Who doesn’t want to have the feeling of flying high on G6 without needing to buy a dozen beer bottles? 

However, you might want to slow down a little before your expected night of goodness turns into the worst night of your life. Here are a few suggestions:

Drink Fewer Glasses 

If you want a little more control of yourself while sipping on your sparkling drink, watch out on the refills. You can go overboard quickly, especially if your drink has a delicious flavoring.

Keep Your Hydration Up

This tip is a classic, yet many people throw it off the window when happy vibes start checking in. Here’s a fact: alcohol causes dehydration much more than most people know. Drinking more water rehydrates you, gets your electrolyte count up, and helps curb the consumption of alcohol by up to half (perhaps even more). To be safe, always maintain water: alcohol ratio of 1:1.

Snack on Something Nutritious

Besides consuming less alcohol and increasing your water intake, you might also want to be intentional when choosing your snacks during the party. Granted, carb-high and fatty snacks such as mozzarella sticks and potato skins taste like heaven when you are high. Still, they don’t help you recover from consuming lots of alcoholic beverages. On the contrary, snacks filled with protein and healthy fats will really give your body the boost it needs to keep you happy and in control. Talking about eating, don’t forget the rule of eating well before consuming alcohol.

Use a Wide Glass

Unknown to many, a champagne glass design is not accidental. It is made to be slim-shaped to let as little carbon dioxide out as possible. 

To mitigate the effects of your fizzy drink, consider drinking your wine from a non-fluted glass.

Champagne is a party’s favorite. Practicing mindless drinking when the mood is energetic and happy is no mean feat. However, you can easily get drunk on it without knowing. Doing that gives your liver a hard time, which will come back to haunt you. Not to mention that getting too drunk will cause you to blackout and not enjoy the party after all. Use the tips suggested here to keep things under control while still having a good time.