Everything You Need To Know About The Science Behind Hangovers
November 4, 2019 by Dreasy
Having the time of your life at an all-night party but worried about the headache and nausea after?
A horrible hangover may not be on your list of agenda in the morning but you can almost feel it happening.
It can impair your productivity and overall activity. It can ruin your entire day and mess with your schedule.
You may have scoured the internet for the ultimate hangover cures but it's also important to know what causes these hangover symptoms.
What Is A Hangover?
A hangover happens when you get intoxicated the previous night and you wake up to various physical and mental indicators that your body is in distress.
The body metabolizes alcohol before it is safely excreted from the body. It creates metabolites that contribute to making your hangover worse.
As your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) drops to zero, your body is slowly getting rid of the alcohol. However, even after your BAC returns to normal range, you might still experience the nasty signs of a hangover for approximately 24 hours.
Another factor is Acetaldehyde, a carcinogen, which is produced in the liver during alcohol metabolism. The toxicity of acetaldehyde also contributes to the hangover symptoms.
Signs of Hangovers
Hangovers happen when your body begins to get rid of the alcohol in your system. When the alcohol level in your body is almost gone, you will experience symptoms like dehydration, nausea, and headache. Here are more signs of a hangover:
- Extreme fatigue
- Lethargy
- Dehydration
- Muscle pain
- Headache
- The upset stomach which may also include vomiting and nausea
- Poor sleep quality
- Increased sensitivity to various stimuli
- Severe dizziness
- Lack of balance
- Tremors
- Reduced concentration
- Mood swings
- Irregular heartbeat
Can Hangovers Cause Health Complications?
Generally, too much alcohol intake predisposes you to certain health risks. However, a night of drinking may not impact your health negatively if you are in good health and ahangover might just be a temporary occurrence.
But it's important to determine if hangover complications are impairing your long term health, which usually happens in chronic alcoholism. Too much alcohol intake may be detrimental to your brain and other internal organs. Moreover, if you start drinking at an early age, your bone health might also get affected as you grow older.
Even though hangover is troublesome to deal with, health complications as a result of this are unlikely severe or long term.
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What Causes Hangovers?
A hangover is caused by slow alcohol metabolism and the production of alcohol metabolites such as acetaldehyde.
When you drink alcoholic beverages, your body responds by attempting to excrete the alcohol and other compounds through various pathways, which trigger undesirable symptoms like headache and nausea.
Dehydration
As your body metabolizes alcohol and attempts to get rid of it, you begin urinating more frequently. When you urinate more frequently and only drink alcoholic beverages with very little to no water, you begin to experience the classic signs of dehydration such as dry mouth, extreme thirst, and lightheadedness. This leads to other signs of hangovers like headache.
Inflammation
A hangover may also be caused by the immune response attributed to excessive alcohol intake. This triggers inflammation and greatly contributes to muscle soreness that you experience during a hangover the next day. Furthermore, the temporary cognitive impairment and stomach upset that you experience during a hangover may also be attributed to this inflammatory response.
That is why we created Alcohol Detox to help the body get rid of the alcohol toxins and free radicals. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects that also effectively aids with digestion.
Gastrointestinal Distress
Hangovers may also be caused by an increase in stomach acid production which leads to stomach discomfort, nausea, and vomiting. This increase in stomach acid production is caused by too much alcohol intake that begins to irritate the lining of your stomach.
Low Blood Sugar
Alcohol intake may lower your blood sugar levels which could lead to fatigue, tremors, general weakness, mood swings or in extreme cases, even seizures. Also, you seldom consume alcohol with sweets or carbohydrates that may further contribute to the drop in your blood sugar levels.
Increase in Blood Pressure
The intake of alcoholic beverages may cause vasodilation which forces your blood vessels to expand and may increase your blood pressure. This increase in blood pressure may cause a headache which is probably the most common indicator of a hangover.
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Does a lack of good sleep cause hangovers?
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that inhibits brain function. Notice most people fall asleep due to intoxication?
But alcohol does not induce good sleep. On the contrary, it even prevents you from falling into deeper sleep stages. Furthermore, since your sleep quality is ruined by alcohol, you may wake up multiple times and feel fatigued or groggy the next day.
Lack of good sleep contributes to the severity of your hangover. Moreover, once you don’t get enough rest, you eventually feel drained. That is when your hangover gets worse as other symptoms kick in. Poor quality of sleep makes your hangover symptoms worse.
It’s not just the alcohol
Aside from alcohol, congeners and sulfites are often found in your party beverages. Congeners are products of the fermentation process of your favorite drinks, while sulfites are used to preserve wines. Congeners and sulfites may either induce or intensify a hangover.
How to prevent hangovers?
A party is always fun until you wake up the next day with a horrible hangover. You probably want to prevent the occurrence of a hangover, so you can wake up the next day and continue with your normal activities. Besides, parties sometimes happen the night before a crucial workday, so you would want to maintain your productivity. Here are some ways to prevent a hangover from occurring:
- Slow down the absorption of alcohol by eating enough food
- Opt for drinks with minimal or no congeners or sulfites
- Hydrate yourself properly in between drinks
- Take dietary supplements for hangover prevention
- Limit alcohol intake or don’t drink alcoholic beverages at all
- Minimize nicotine intake or smoking when drinking heavily
- Drink alcoholic beverages slowly and know your drinking limit
Conclusion
A hangover is a result of alcohol metabolism and excretion in your body. Your body is slowly adapting to changes caused by alcohol intake and other bioactive compounds in it.
Hangovers vary in severity and it also depends on your choice of drinks. Nevertheless, hangovers may effectively be prevented or reduced with proper measures.