Different kinds of alcohol have different physical and emotional effects on drinkers - study

Drinking red wine may elicit conflicting responses of feeling both sexy and tired, a new study suggests.

A quarter of red wine drinkers (25 per cent) report feeling sexy after a tipple.

But the beverage also appears to make three in five consumers (60 per cent) feel tired.

The findings come from a large new study which discovered that different types of alcohol elicit different emotional responses.

The research, published in the journal BMJ Open, also suggests loutish drunken behaviour may be linked to the type of alcohol you consume.

After examining anonymised responses to the world's largest online survey of legal and illicit drug and alcohol use among adults, researchers found that drinking spirits such as vodka, gin or rum appears to be more commonly associated with aggression than other drinks, 30 per cent of spirit drinkers reporting feeling aggressive after drinking spirits.

This compared to about 2.5 per cent of red or white wine drinkers and 7 per cent of beer drinkers reporting feelings of aggression.

Spirits were also the type of alcohol most likely to bring on tearfulness among drinkers when compared to red wine, white wine and beer drinking, according to data from the Global Drug Survey, an online questionnaire provided in 11 languages.

Red wine drinkers reported the highest level of feelings of tiredness, according to the data from almost 30,000 people from 21 different countries.

Meanwhile, spirits appeared to make drinkers feel more "energised" than other drinks, with more than half of drinkers reporting energy boosts.

And 59 per cent of spirit drinkers reported feelings of confidence compared to 45 per cent of beer drinkers and just over a quarter of wine drinkers.

Red wine and beer appeared to make drinkers feel most relaxed.

The researchers from Public Health Wales and King's College London also found that spirits were also associated with the highest levels of feeling sexy, with four in 10 saying that spirits made them feel this way.

This compares to around a quarter of red or white wine drinkers and 19 per cent of beer drinkers.

Understanding emotions associated with alcohol consumption is imperative to addressing alcohol misuse, providing insight into what emotions influence drink choice between different groups in the population, the authors conclude.