It’s the biggest study to ever document how people react to alcohol, mood-wise. Researchers used data from almost 30,000 people who responded to the Global Drug Survey, a yearly international poll about drug and alcohol habits around the world. They found significant differences between different types of drinks.

这是迄今为止针对该课题规模最大的研究。研究人员从“全球毒品调查”(一项关于全球毒品及酒精嗜好的年度国际调查)中选取了近3万名调查对象的数据进行研究。他们发现，不同类型的酒对人情绪的影响存在显著差异。

Strong spirits (like vodka, gin, or whiskey) made people feel energized (58% of people), confident (59%) and sexy (42%). But they also had a negative effect, tending to bring out aggression in some people. Negative feelings such as aggression (30%), restlessness (28%) and tearfulness (22%) give significant cause for concern. Meanwhile, just 2.5% of red wine drinkers reported feeling more aggressive.

伏特加、金酒、威士忌等烈酒使人感到精力旺盛(58%)、自信(59%)、性感(42%)。但同时，它们也会产生消极效应，容易使一些人展现出侵略性。这些消极情绪——侵略性(30%)、焦躁不安(28%)、悲痛(22%)——足以引起我们的担忧。然而，只有2.5%的红酒饮用者感觉到自己更富攻击性。

Red wine tended to make people sad in 17% of cases, but more significantly, 53% of red wine drinkers said it left them feeling more relaxed. A similar fraction of people (almost 50%) reported this sentiment for beer. As it turns out, having a beer or a glass of wine does tend to make you feel more relaxed.

17%的人喝完红酒以后会感到悲伤;但更多时候，红酒令人心情放松，53%的人有这种感觉。近50%的人表示，饮用啤酒有同样感受。事实证明，喝点啤酒或红酒确实容易令人更放松。

It’s not clear exactly why these things happen. It may be due to the nature of the drink, such as different ingredients, alcohol content, and the amounts consumed. However, it may be due to cultural aspects as well. Basically, the setting in which people tend to drink red wine might be more relaxing, whereas the setting for spirits might be more active.

目前，我们尚不清楚为什么会出现这些情况。这可能和酒本身有关，比如不同的配方、酒精含量、摄入量等。不过，也可能是文化层面的原因。简单而言，通常选择喝红酒的场合可能更放松，而喝烈酒的场合可能更为活跃。

“Feeling positive emotions may in part be related to the promotion of positive experiences by advertising and the media. Emotions experienced could also be related to when the alcohol is drunk, the levels of alcohol within each beverage type and the different compounds found in different drinks. Understanding emotions associated with alcohol consumption is imperative to addressing alcohol misuse.”

“人们之所以在饮酒后体验到积极情绪，可能是由于广告和媒体的宣传。饮酒后的情绪可能还与饮酒的时间，每种酒的酒精含量以及不同种类的酒所含的不同成分有关。要想解决酒精滥用问题，就要尽快弄清酒精摄入和情绪之间的关系。”

Professor Mark Bellis, Public Health Wales’ director of policy, research and international development, says we should pay extra attention to spirits, which are associated with a rich history of violence.

威尔士公共卫生政策、研究和国际发展部主任马克•贝利斯教授称，我们应该更加关注长期以来都与暴力行为分不开的烈酒。

“Spirits are often consumed more quickly and have much higher concentrations of alcohol in them. This can result in a quicker stimulating effect as blood alcohol levels increase. They may also be consumed in different social occasions so people may be drinking them deliberately to feel the drunken effect quickly while other types of drink are more likely to be consumed slowly or with food. As people get the kick from escalating alcohol levels, the same increases reduce the brain’s ability to suppress impulsive feelings or to consider the consequences of acting on them.”

“烈酒的酒精浓度非常高，且通常喝得更快。随着血液中酒精浓度的增加，对人们造成更快的刺激效果。在不同的社交场合中，人们可能会故意喝烈酒以更快达到醉酒的效果，而其他种类的酒更适合搭配食物慢慢享用。当人们不断从酒精中获得快感时，大脑抑制冲动的能力也随之降低，使得人们难以考虑酒后行为会造成的后果。”

The study was published in the British Medical Journal.

这项研究发表在《英国医学杂志》上。