#The Margin: When the epidemic hits, do you find yourself drinking more at home? You’re not alone in feeling this way

The data used by the researchers came from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey, which tracks retail sales in the United States. And while retail sales of food and beverages fell by 27 percent over the same period in the same survey, the researchers hypothesize that this suggests that Americans were drinking more at home to cope with the stress of the epidemic, according to the findings of the study. And, of course, more people were drinking at home because many pubs and restaurants were closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day morning.

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and the United States began implementing shelter-in-place measures in March and April of last year, Nielsen reported that alcohol sales in stores were up 54 percent in late March compared to the same period in 2019, while online alcohol sales spiked 243 percent as people restocked their liquor cabinets and wine cellars to keep their spirits up while the country was preparing to implement shelter-in-place measures in April.

Furthermore, the researchers in this most recent study cautioned that excessive drinking might have a variety of negative repercussions.

Related: More than half of Generation Z investors confess to trading while under the influence of alcohol.

Dr. Joao Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia, the research’s principal author, said, “Our findings appear to corroborate an increase in home drinking over the study period, which might possibly contribute to increased alcohol intake and alcohol-related unfavorable health consequences.”

According to Castaldelli-Maia, “increases in alcohol consumption at home during the pandemic might potentially worsen the consequences of social isolation on domestic violence,” she said. “For example, according to data from the United States Police Department, there was a 10 percent to a 27 percent increase in calls concerning domestic violence during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders across a wide range of geographic locations, from Alabama and Texas to Oregon and New York, although it is unclear whether home drinking played a role in such outcomes.”

In fact, during the pandemic last year, the World Health Organization urged governments to maintain or tighten restrictions on the purchase of alcoholic beverages, citing the fact that alcohol consumption can weaken the immune system, increasing the likelihood of contracting a virus such as the coronavirus.

Some remote workers also reportedly started hitting the sauce from their home offices. An April 2020 survey of nearly 13,000 verified professionals on the social networking app Fishbowl found 42% admitting that they were drinking alcohol while on the clock and working from home. A more recent survey reported by the Independent claims that 45% of surveyed remote workers have a drink during their workday, and 40% admit to signing off early for happy hour.

Last fall, a study of 1,540 adults ages 30 to 80 published in the journal JAMA Network Open reported that participants were drinking 14% more than they were before the pandemic. And American women in particular reported a 41% spike in episodes of heavy drinking (defined as downing four or more drinks within two hours) in the spring of 2020 as compared with a year earlier.

Related: U.S. online alcohol sales jump 243% during coronavirus pandemic

And another survey conducted last year found that 29% of respondents who drank alcohol reported increasing their drinking since COVID-19 hit, and people with anxiety or depression symptoms were even more likely to have increased their alcohol use.

Furthermore, while Americans awaited the results of the disputed presidential election, Google searches for “alcohol drink” and “liquor store near me” reached an all-time high in the United States in November as they watched the results trickle in.

In a related article, people are turning to alcohol to cope with pandemic-related worry – here’s how to drink less of it.

If you or someone you know is struggling with problem drinking, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) free, confidential National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for treatment referral and information. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Alcohol Treatment Navigator also provides information on alcohol-use disorder, the kinds of treatments available, and how to find science-backed care from alcohol-treatment programs, therapists and addiction doctors in your area. And MarketWatch also recently pulled together some strategies and resources to help people drink in moderation, or to abstain altogether.