That’s why alcohol makes you pee

A hormone is responsible

You know, drinking too much makes you pee but when you drink alcohol, why do you have an ever-growing urge to urinate while getting tipsy? Of course, there’s a physiological reason for which a hormone is responsible.

It has many names: vasopressin (VP), antidiuretic hormone (ADH), or arginine vasopressin (AVP). To simplify, you can just call it ADH.

As explained in this article, ADH is a neuropeptide hormone. The term “antidiuretic hormone” refers to a hormone that reduces the diuretic effect, which causes you to urinate less frequently. In your body, hormones are a form of a chemical messenger, and peptides are chains of amino acids.

The longer chain of amino acids that makes up ADH is first created in the brain, specifically in the hypothalamus. The arginine vasopressin gene (AVP) is located on chromosome 20 and provides instructions for the body to produce this longer chain. Active ADH, which is kept in the pituitary gland, is created by trimming the big chain.

The pituitary gland releases ADH, which causes the kidneys to reabsorb more water when you need to preserve it and/or urinate less, such as to avoid dehydration or stop bedwetting. Consequently, there will be less urine.

Alcohol, however, throws a wrench in the works by preventing the release of ADH. According to numerous studies, alcohol (also known as ethanol) lowers the activity of calcium channels in pituitary gland neurons, which in turn lowers the release of ADH. This indicates that ADH isn’t present to stem the flow of pint-induced urination.

Consider the amount of liquid entering your body and ADH won’t be much of a help if the liquid in question is alcohol. And your drink contains caffeine is even worse because it’s a diuretic that doesn’t mix well with low levels of antidiuretic hormone.

Both caffeine and alcohol irritate the bladder. Therefore, the detrusor muscle, which contracts in the bladder wall to release pee, may be impacted. Caffeine and alcohol use in excess are known causes of the overactive detrusor muscles that cause a sudden urge to urinate.

However, why after a few drinks rather than right away after the first drink, do you start to feel the need to urinate immediately? Although it normally takes approximately 10 minutes for alcohol to start to take effect, blood alcohol levels can start to rise up to 40 minutes after your last drink.

The stomach is where about 20% of alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream. The rest is absorbed through the small intestine, which has a larger surface area and does so more quickly. The pyloric sphincter closes to allow for the digestion of food in the stomach, which prevents alcohol from flowing swiftly into the small intestine and slows its absorption into the bloodstream. As a result, it may take a little longer for the alcohol to reach this area.