Can Champagne Change Your Mood?

When you think of Champagne, what do you think of? Do you think of joyful occasions, like weddings or celebrations? Maybe you think of luxury lifestyles with expensive cars, watches and yachts or simply of enjoying time with family and friends?

Normally Champagne is associated with good times, but does this make us happy when drinking it? The safe answer would be to say, it all depends on the individual, but is there a more scientific answer, can the level of your emotion be a factor in whether it can make you happy or happier?

All I’ve done so far is ask questions and you came here for some answers, so let’s get into it. Science is yet to find any evidence that different drinks affect your mood, but we shouldn’t just stop there.

Mcleod says – “Some of the more positive moods that come out can be brought on by a memory of feeling a certain way when previously consuming that type of alcohol. For example, people would mostly say that Champagne makes them happy. This might be because we associate Champagne – and generally consume it – at celebrations where most of us are usually feeling happy, anyway,”

It’s an interesting topic, it sounds like it comes down to your memory, of associating Champagne with a certain image or scene from your life, as Champagne is a drink to enjoy at celebrations and that’s normally how we see it advertised, does that mean that Champagne should always make you a little happier unless you have a bad memory associated with Champagne?

As there is no scientific evidence to support drinks affecting your mood, just theories, even though Champagne contains magnesium, potassium and zinc which could contribute to a buoyant (cheerful and optimistic) feeling, the best way to find out, would be to do an experiment, so I thought I would be the test dummy and over the next week drink one glass of Champagne when feeling different emotions.

With this experiment, I’m going for how it makes you feel in the moment, not a hangover the next day and not even drunk or a little tipsy, just one glass of Champagne, still level-headed to see if it can change your mood. Over the next week, I’ll drink one glass of Champagne when feeling happy, sad and nervous.

I’ve written down my results for you to look at, now these results are my own, I don’t expect everyone’s to be the same, as the level of sadness or happiness is not always the same.

Happy – “When you’re in an optimistic mood, everything seems better, you have a more positive outlook on life and enjoy things that little bit more, when I was in a positive mood, I poured myself a glass of Champagne and after a few sips, my positive mood did not dwindle at all, it continued, whether my positive mood increased, I can’t conclusively say, what I can say though, is that even more of me had a good time, as the Champagne’s aroma and flavour allowed a couple more of my senses to experience joy, it helped the moment and potentially extended it. – Oliver Walkey

Sad – “When you’re feeling down, it can feel like nothing is going to get you out of it, but then something does, will Champagne help or be a quick fix? Unfortunately, it won’t be a quick fix out of sadness, but depending on what level of sadness you are in, it may help you, it enlivens the taste buds and gives them something to enjoy, which does cause a knock-on effect that makes you feel a little better or at least it did when I tried it. – Oliver Walkey

Nervous – “You can’t really concentrate on anything other than what you’re feeling nervous about, so you can’t really enjoy or appreciate the Champagne in your glass, but I felt that a glass of Champagne eased me a little bit, by about 4%, so not very much, it could have been the positive memories I have with Champagne subconsciously distracting me a touch or making me a little more positive or even confident that made me feel a little more at ease, but it’s a slippery road from there, as the more you drink the less nervous, but drunker you’ll get. – Oliver Walkey

My Results

When feeling these emotions I drunk only one glass of Champagne, I never got drunk or felt tipsy afterward, I did this experiment in my own home, the bottle was always open, so I did not feel the joy of opening a bottle or letting the cork fly.

From my experiment and experience, it does seem like Champagne increases your mood and makes you a little happier, I wouldn’t say I went from sad to happy after one glass, but my sadness wasn’t as bad as just before, but I don’t recommend that you drink yourself out of your sadness because after you’re done drinking you’ll be right back where you started, find something productive to do, read a book, go outside for 10 minutes, talk to a friend, basically, go outside and get off your phone, it’ll help your mental state.

I never felt saddened or worse after drinking a glass of Champagne, I would have either stayed the same or become a little happier/at ease, but of course, if I tried this experiment again when I felt devastated or just won the lottery, then I might have some slightly different results, but after this experiment, I think Champagne can help you feel a little extra joy.

A deeper reason why Champagne can alter our mood for the better might be because it is said to have health benefits, our bodies can do amazing things when it comes to fixing ourselves when we get a cut or get sick, and you know the saying ‘You Are What You Eat’, well, it’s true and that will go the same for what you drink and if Champagne does have some health benefits, then our bodies will thank us for enjoying it.

Please look for yourself before taking these benefits to heart, but on that topic, Champagne is said to be good for your heart and reduces the chance of a stoke, as it’s made from red and white grapes it contains the same antioxidants which prevent damage to your blood vessels, reduce bad cholesterol and prevent blood clots.

It is also said to lower the risk of diabetes by 13% and help prevent dementia, as well as containing fewer calories (80) than red and white wine (120) which is always nice to know.

References

1.  https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/health/health-news/do-different-alcohols-really-bring-out-different-moods/news-story/a505e78c6526f08ea3b9266a44a9ae46
2. https://www.thejournal.ie/feel-low-after-drinking-3356911-Apr2017/
3. https://www.standard.co.uk/reveller/foodanddrink/7-reasons-why-champagne-is-scientifically-good-for-you-a3071566.html