The science of hangovers: everything you need to know

glasses of beer being held by a group of people

Tianna Nadalin

Posted November 02, 2020

Hangovers, explained. (Plus the real reason they're worse when you're older.)

Hangovers are the worst. They're unpredictable, unpleasant and, in the case of sparkling wine, seemingly unavoidable. But why are some hangovers worse than others and is a midnight Maccas run really the ultimate remedy? We defenseless up with Swinburne Academy's Dr Sarah Benson, a postal service-doctoral inquiry fellow at the Centre for Human Pyschopharmacology, to discover out why we go hangovers and if you can, in fact, beat them. Science says this is everything you demand to know about allaying the liquid influenza.

Hangovers explained: Everything you demand to know

What is a hangover?

Sure, we all know a hangover is what you get afterward drinking too much alcohol, but in terms of scientific definitions, Sarah says "it'due south complicated" doesn't even begin to explain it.

"By definition, the hangover state occurs [later drinking to excess] when your body doesn't accept alcohol in it," she says. "That means the hangover will begin when your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) returns to zilch."

Depending on how much alcohol you lot've had to drink, that could happen six hours later or 12, with the symptoms starting when your BAC is budgeted cypher.

The general malaise and unpleasantness of a hangover can generally be attributed to a combination of three things: dehydration, toxic byproducts of alcohol metabolism and toxic compounds (congenas) institute within certain alcoholic beverages. But the effects and symptoms of a hangover are unlike from those of residual alcohol, which may exist present the morning after when BAC is still above zip.

Why do nosotros get hangovers?

Though the science of hangovers is yet cloudy at best, Sarah says when it comes to why nosotros feel sick after drinking, the answer is unproblematic. Ethanol.

"Alcohol is metabolised in the liver by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase, which converts ethanol [alcohol] into acetaldehyde," she says. "Acetaldehyde is a toxic substance, so your torso tries to get rid of it as quickly as possible. To practise this, information technology uses aldehyde dehydrogenase to convert toxic acetaldehyde into acetate. Information technology'due south this process that is capable of metabolising roughly one standard drink per hour."

If someone is to drinkable more than that, Sarah explains, that's when y'all come across BAC rise and, equally BAC rises, your body becomes less efficient at removing the acetaldehyde. (More: What is a standard drink?)

"It is hypothesised that, as the acetaldehyde builds up in the trunk, this is what results in the hangover – leading to headaches, dehydration and nausea."

In simple terms, Sarah says, you're basically poisoning yourself.

person with a face mask in a blue shirt pouring a glass of beer from a tap

Victorians are collectively getting dorsum on the beers. This guide shows y'all how to avert the hangover.

Does sleep assistance to reduce a hangover?

While slumber itself isn't a hangover cure, Sarah says getting more of it tin change subjective feelings of hangover.

"I of the factors that can contribute to the feeling of existence hung over is a lack of slumber," she says. "This is because if you lot drinkable excessively information technology can change your sleeping patterns. Alcohol can interfere with your sleep stages, which means people volition often fall into a deep slumber really quickly, but then they'll wake upwards during the night and find it hard to get dorsum to sleep. Given fatigue is a large component of feeling hung over, getting fewer hours of proficient sleep can increase or exacerbate the hangover state."

Why are hangovers worse as you get older?

If you're reading this while y'all sit on the burrow, you might desire to put downwards the chocolate bar or bowl of ice-foam. Scientists believe 1 of the reasons hangovers feel more severe as you become older is because people's trunk composition changes as they age, which is a polite way of saying that as our waistlines increase, so too does the severity of our hangovers.

"People often commencement getting a higher proportion of body fat equally they age," Sarah says. "Fat tissue has a lower water content than musculus and, given alcohol is water-soluble, the higher body fat a person has, the less booze can exist absorbed."

This leads to a quicker increment in BAC and therefore intoxication, ergo, could explain why people suffer from more extreme hangovers every bit they get older.

"There are a couple of studies looking at the [physiological markers] of hangovers, but they don't evidence whatever convincing differences between hangovers at eighteen or 48," Sarah says. "Just anecdotally, people feel a worse hangover as they become older."

Other reasons for this might exist that people's drinking behaviours change every bit they get older, they accept different responsibilities or other lifestyle factors as they age – such as increased stress or children waking them upward early in the morning (no sleep ins here) – which make the hangover experience worse.

Is there such as retrieve equally a hangover cure?

When it comes to hangover cures, Sarah says the promises of repercussion-free boozing are just empty marketing hype.

Nearly of the over-the-counter hangover helpers focus on treating different physiological aspects of a hangover. She says some of the common areas to focus on are booze metabolism and vitamin replacement.

"There are so many supposed hangover cures available," she says. "The idea is that if yous can improve the metabolism of alcohol, the hangover will be less severe, or that by replacing lost vitamins, you volition feel meliorate. But, at the moment, we don't take any empirical evidence that they work. The only thing that is proven to reduce your hangover is drinking less alcohol."

Why practise some people throw upwards?

In that location are two kinds of people in this world. Those who spew after drinking besides much alcohol, and those who don't. "Some people are spewers and some aren't," Sarah says. "Alcohol is toxic and it can touch the lining of the breadbasket so, during intoxication, if you lot have a more than sensitive stomach, y'all might be more likely to be ill."

man drinking champagne from the bottle at a party

It's all fun and games... until someone gets a hangover.

Why are some hangovers worse than others?

While scientists accept long believed that drinking alcohol impacts the allowed system, Dr Benson says nosotros all the same have limited agreement about how. What nosotros practise know is that there is a correlation betwixt cytokines (biomarkers of allowed function) in the claret and alcohol consumption. 1 study found that people with hangovers have elevated cytokines, which has been associated with nausea, headaches, fatigue and fifty-fifty disrupted memory formation.

"There has been a lot of research done on this and researchers aren't able to find exactly what it is that alcohol does to the immune system," she says, "They aren't able to replicate findings. One study will find one affair and, when they endeavor to replicate it, the findings will be different. I suspect this is because there is a lot of individual variation in the presence and severity of hangover symptoms – non only betwixt people simply also within people. Everything from how much sleep you've had and what you've eaten on any given day to what yous drank and how apace, can scientifically assess hangovers."

Are at that place ingredients in booze that can exacerbate hangover symptoms?

Though we don't know exactly why some hangovers are worse than others, what we practise know is that drinking certain types of alcohol can lead to more severe hangover symptoms because of the toxic impurities found within them.

Congenas

Congenas are compounds that are produced during fermentation and have been shown to increase the frequency and severity of hangovers. Near alcoholic drinks contain varying levels of congeners, with darker alcohols (rum, red wine, whisky) containing the highest levels.

Bubbling

There'southward a reason they say champagne hangovers are the worst: bubbling. "Carbonated drinks may be absorbed quicker in the stomach," Dr Benson explains. "This leads to a higher overall BAC and, therefore, a worse hangover."

What should you potable to avoid a hangover?

While drinking anything to backlog is likely to outcome in a hangover, choosing white spirits or still wines with a lower ABV may help to lessen the alcoholic blow to the system.

If you do wake up with a hangover, is there anything you can accept to aid you feel ameliorate?

Over-the-counter products won't necessarily cure a hangover, simply they may help to alleviate some of the symptoms.

NSAIDs

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen, accept been shown to provide effective relief from headaches and muscle aches. "Anti-inflammatories are the most constructive over-the counter medications to treat hangover symptoms because they can reduce inflammation, headache and body hurting," Sarah says. "Still, they should be used with caution as they may irritate the breadbasket lining and should exist taken with food."

Vitamins

At that place's a reason people reach for the Berocca or hydralytes when they wake up feeling a piffling seedy. Drinking excessive booze tin can go out y'all dehydrated, which ways your body is also lacking in water-soluble vitamins. The theory is that taking a vitamin or hydration supplement can help to replace these lost fluids. But whether or not this really helps with your hangover symptoms is even so unclear.

tray of coupe glasses filled with champagne

Everything should exist taken in moderation, even if you're having fun.

Hangover cure myths

Caffeine

While many people swear by their mail-rampage caffeine hit, there is no evidence to suggest drinking java will aid your hangover symptoms. In fact, it may even make things worse. Caffeine narrows your blood vessels and boosts claret pressure, both of which could serve to make that pounding headache seem more severe. Add together to that the fact that caffeine can often accept a mild diuretic effect on the trunk, which could further exacerbate hangover aridity.

Pilus of the domestic dog

A Bloody Mary with brunch might seem like a good idea at the time simply Sarah says having another drinkable is one of the worst things y'all tin do if you lot're hungover. "It might slightly accept the edge off your symptoms," she says. "But all you're really doing is adding to the toxic load."

Greasy food

The midnight Maccas run or next-day Drive-Thru dash might be a rite of drinking passage but Sarah says at that place is no evidence to suggest greasy food is a hangover helper. She recommends sticking to easy-to-assimilate foods such as toast and making sure you stay hydrated.

Australian Drinking Guidelines

The Australian Guidelines recommend healthy adults should drinkable no more than than two standard drinks on any twenty-four hour period to cutting the lifetime take chances of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury. They too recommend consuming a maximum of four standard drinks on a single occasion to reduce the risk of alcohol-related injury. Visit wellness.gov.au for more than information.