The Hangover: What happens, why it happens, and how to make it stop [Lifestyle article, October 2009]

[2009]

“I’m never drinking again.” We’ve all said it—moaned it, rather—our heads throbbing violently and our faces miserably disputing with the inside of a toilet.

Over three fourths of drinkers have experienced a hangover. Consuming about 5-6 drinks (for an 80-kg man) or 3-5 drinks (for a 60-kg woman) will almost always lead to one. Yet having a hangover has never put off alcohol consumption; conversely, hangovers often lead to further drinking, an uneducated attempt to fight off those foul feelings. Here’s what happens when you experience a hangover, and why:

Headache: About 66% of people are affected with a headache the day after drinking. Alcohol causes your kidneys to stop reabsorbing water. Your brain then becomes dehydrated and starts to shrink, causing it to stretch away from the inside of your skull. This shrinking causing some pretty piercing pains upstairs.

Thirst and dry mouth: Dehydration is one of the main causes of hangovers. Alcohol is a diuretic, and speeds up water loss from the body (flashback to the night before—once you break the seal, those bathroom runs become more and more frequent).

Nausea and vomiting: When you overdose on alcohol, your body accumulates toxins. It tries to protect itself by producing enzymes to break down and remove these toxins, but the flushing isn’t fast enough. As a result, the toxins irritate your stomach and eventually want out—cue head in toilet.

Hot, sweaty and shaky: If you’re soaked in sweat and trembling, then hypoglycaemia—a deficiency of glucose in the bloodstream—has kicked in. Alcohol causes a large amount of insulin to flow out from the pancreas, and your blood sugar level is lowered.

Memory impairment and mood changes: Your physical body isn’t the only part of you suffering. Alcohol causes drastic changes in your immune system parameters, bringing about cognitive effects such as diminished visual-spatial skills and dexterity, driving skills, managerial skills and task completion.

Alas, the dancing and drinking and all-around divineness of a great night certainly comes with a price. In fact, Australia loses an estimated $3.8 billion each year due to decreased occupational productivity caused by symptoms of hangovers. Cue Sunday Sessions that dip into Monday morning.

In general, the more you drink and the more time you spend drinking, the more severe the hangover will be. But some heads may pulse louder than others, so before you crack that beer or say no to that burger, keep in mind some of the factors that determine the frequency and severity of a hangover:

Liquor vs beer vs wine: Liquor causes the most severe hangovers, with wine and beer following.

Dark vs Light: As a rule of thumb, the darker the drink the greater the hangover. Congeners, substances that flavour and colour drinks, are found in brandy, wine, tequila, whiskey and other dark liquors. It takes fewer high-congener drinks to produce a hangover, and the hangover will be more severe. Clear liquors, such as rum, gin and vodka, have been shown to cause hangovers less frequently.

White vs Red: White wine is a better choice than red, because red wine contains naturally occurring chemicals that contribute to headaches.

Eating is Cheating: If you want to cheat the hangover, you have to eat either before or during your drinking session. It reduces your hangover by slowing alcohol absorption. Greasy, fatty or fried foods line your intestines, which slows down your body’s ability to absorb alcohol into the bloodstream.

Dr Paul Haber, who specialises in alcoholic liver disease at the University of Sydney, says rest and non-alcoholic fluids are your best bet in fighting hangovers. “If heartburn is present, take an antacid or anti-ulcer tablet,” he advises. If you find it hard to resist a good night out on the town, and wake up wishing that perhaps you hadn’t indulged, here’s what else you can do:

Drink lots of water: Water hydrates and dilutes the vicious by-products that are left over in your stomach.

Eat: Go ahead—pig out. Eating increases your metabolism, which helps your body deal more efficiently with the side effects.

Bacon, egg and cheese sandwich: Studies have shown that this combo can drastically reduce hangover symptoms. The carbohydrates in the bread raise your blood sugar and give you energy. The fat in the bacon helps to absorb the gallons of alcohol you downed last night, and the salt replenishes your sodium levels. Cysteine, found in eggs, enhances your body’s ability to clean up free radicals, which accumulate in your liver while it breaks down toxins caused by drinking. The bacon also supplies protein, which breaks down into amino acids. Your brain needs these to restore neurotransmitters that were damaged (possibly along with your dignity) by alcohol.

Toast and vegemite: Vitamin B, found in vegemite, has been shown to reduce the number of hangover symptoms by about 50%.

Caffeine: Caffeine can help a headache by reducing the size of the blood vessels swollen by alcohol.

Work out: A trip to the gym increases the oxygen flow, which speeds up your metabolism. A faster metabolism means a faster pace at which your body can break down the poisons caused by alcohol.

Hair of the dog: While it’s true that hangovers are partly due to mild withdraws from alcohol overdose, drinking more alcohol only helps temporarily. Just remember that you will eventually get a hangover, and the more you put it off by drinking, the worse it will be.

Now you have a real reason to eat that greasy pub food before pounding beers, or to drink vodka instead of whiskey. Go ahead—drink a bottle of white with your meal, and yes, vegemite IS the food of all foods. Just remember: no matter how intense that head throbbing is, or how many times you rush to the toilet, don’t kid yourself—come the weekend, there’s nothing that says Friday night like an ice cold beer.