Salted snacks offered in bars may not only serve to awaken thirst. In all likelihood, they also help to cope with the anxiety caused by an unfamiliar environment and the need for communication.

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati (USA) found that an increase in the blood level of sodium, which is part of sodium chloride, helps reduce stress, because sodium blocks the work of stress hormones.

"We called this phenomenon" watering effect ". When you are thirsty, you have to overcome a certain anxiety and fear to gain access to a common source of water. That all could get drunk, it is necessary to facilitate dialogue ", - explains Erik Krause, the main author of the study.

Krause and his colleagues conducted an experiment with laboratory rats. The animals were injected with sodium chloride and then subjected to stress. Rats injected with sodium chloride, unlike the control group, released less stress hormones, while their cardiovascular system also less responsive to stress. The arterial pressure and palpitation in these animals did not increase so much, and returned to the norm more quickly than in animals from the control group.

When the researchers forced two rats to interact with each other, the animals showed more sociability and less signs of anxiety.

Elevated sodium levels reduce stress by suppressing the hormone antigiotenzin II and activating the antistress hormone oxytocin. In subsequent studies, scientists want to test what role these hormones play in the development of social phobia and autism, that is, diseases in which social behavior is disrupted.

"According to some studies, oxytocin is associated with autism. We want to find out whether metabolic disorders of this hormone during pregnancy can lead to autism in the child, "say the authors of the work.

News. Gradusnik. En.