Hangovers - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and ...

A hangover refers to a set of symptoms that occur as a consequence of drinking too much. Typical symptoms include fatigue, weakness, thirst, headache, ... Skiptomaincontent ConnectwithNIAAA PrimaryNavigation Alcohol'sEffectsonHealth AlcoholTopics GettingHelp NIAAAShortTakesVideoSeries ​​​​​​​AlcoholInterventionsforYoungAdults OrderPublications HealthProfessionals&Communities TheHealthcareProfessional'sCoreResourceonAlcohol ResourcesfromtheNIAAACollegeTaskForce AlcoholInterventionsforYoungAdults AlcoholScreening&BriefInterventionforYouth SurveillanceReports AdditionalReportsandResources Research MajorResearchInitiatives ExtramuralResearchProgram IntramuralResearchProgram NIAAADataArchive AlcoholResearchResource(R24)Awards NESARC-III NIAAASBIR/STTRProgram ResearchTraining TrainingGrantsbyEligibility TrainingGrantsbyMechanism ResearchTrainingPrograms CentersandTrainingWorkingGroupRoster Grants&Funding HowtoApplyforaGrant FundingOpportunities Management&Reporting News&Events News Events PressRoom SocialMedia Spectrum AboutNIAAA NIAAAAdvisoryCouncil StrategicPlan2017-2021 OurWork OurFunding OurStaff Jobs&Training ContactUs History Hangovers Breadcrumb Home Alcohol'sEffectsonHealth Hangovers Image Formanypeople,anightofdrinkingcanleadtoapainfulmorningafterandthedreadedeffectsofahangover.Whatdoessciencetellusaboutthisphenomenon?Whatcausesthetypicalsymptomsofahangover?Andthequestionperhapsasoldashangoversthemselves—arethereanyrealremedies? WhatIsaHangover? Ahangoverreferstoasetofsymptomsthatoccurasaconsequenceofdrinkingtoomuch.Typicalsymptomsincludefatigue,weakness,thirst,headache,muscleaches,nausea,stomachpain,vertigo,sensitivitytolightandsound,anxiety,irritability,sweating,andincreasedbloodpressure.Ahangovercanvaryfrompersontoperson. OtherSubstancesThatContributetoHangoverSymptoms Alcoholisthemainculpritinahangover,butothercomponentsofalcoholicbeveragesmightcontributetohangoversymptomsormakeahangoverworse. Congenersarecompounds,otherthanethylalcohol,thatareproducedduringfermentation.Thesesubstancescontributetothetasteandsmellofalcoholicbeverages.Darkerspirits,suchasbourbon,whichtendtohavehigherlevelsofcongenersthanclearspirits,couldworsenhangoversymptomsforsomepeople. Sulfitesarecompoundsthatareaddedtowineaspreservatives.Peoplewhohaveasensitivitytosulfitesmayexperienceaheadacheafterdrinkingwine. WhatCausesHangoverSymptoms? Anumberoffactorscancontributetohangovers: Milddehydration: Alcoholsuppressesthereleaseofvasopressin,ahormoneproducedbythebrainthatsendssignalstothekidneyscausingthemtoretainfluid.Asaresult,alcoholincreasesurinationandexcesslossoffluids.Themilddehydrationthatresultslikelycontributestohangoversymptomssuchasthirst,fatigue,andaheadache. Disruptedsleep: Peoplemayfallasleepfasterafterdrinkingalcohol,buttheirsleepisfragmented,andtheytendtowakeupearlier.Thiscontributestofatigue,aswellaslostproductivity. Gastrointestinalirritation: Alcoholdirectlyirritatestheliningofthestomachandincreasesacidrelease.Thiscanleadtonauseaandstomachdiscomfort. Inflammation: Alcoholincreasesinflammationinthebody.Inflammationcontributestothemalaisethatpeoplefeelwhentheyaresick,soitmayplayaroleinhangoversymptomsaswell. Acetaldehydeexposure: Alcoholmetabolism,primarilybytheliver,createsthecompoundacetaldehyde,atoxic,short-livedbyproduct,whichcontributestoinflammationintheliver,pancreas,brain,gastrointestinaltract,andotherorgans. Mini-withdrawal: Whiledrinking,individualsmayfeelcalmer,morerelaxed,andeveneuphoric,butthebrainquicklyadjuststothosepositiveeffectsasittriestomaintainbalance.Asaresult,whenthebuzzwearsoff,peoplecanfeelmorerestlessandanxiousthanbeforetheydrank. Becauseindividualsaresodifferent,itisdifficulttopredicthowmanydrinkswillcauseahangover.Anytimepeopledrinktointoxication,thereisachancetheycouldhaveahangoverthenextday. WhenDoesaHangoverPeakandHowLongDoesItLast? Hangoversymptomspeakwhenthebloodalcoholconcentrationinthebodyreturnstoaboutzero.Thesymptomscanlast24hoursorlonger. AreHangoversDangerousorJustPainful? Hangoverscanbebothpainfulanddangerous.Duringahangover,aperson’sattention,decision-making,andmusclecoordinationcanallbeimpaired.Also,theabilitytoperformimportanttasks,suchasdriving,operatingmachinery,orcaringforotherscanbenegativelyaffected. CommonMythsAboutHangovers Myth: Certainactions,suchasdrinkingcoffeeortakingashower,canpreventorcureahangover. Fact: Theonlywaytocompletelyavoidahangoveristonotdrinkalcoholatallortokeepalcoholintaketoaminimum.Thereisnocureforahangoverotherthantime. Myth: Theorderofdrinkswillaffectahangover—ascapturedintheexpression,“beerbeforeliquor,neversicker.” Fact: Ingeneral,themorealcoholapersondrinks,theworsethehangoverwillbe.Thisistrueregardlessofwhetherapersondrinksbeer,wine,distilledspirits,oracombinationofthese. Myth: Havinganalcoholicdrinkinthemorningafteranightofdrinkingwillhelpavoidahangover—apracticeknowncolloquiallyas“ahairofthedogthatbityou.” Fact: Whilethismighttemporarilyminimizesomesymptoms,itcouldcontributetoandprolongthemalaiseandothersymptomsofthehangover. AreThereAnyRemediesforaHangover? Althoughmanyremediesforalleviatinghangoversarementionedonthewebandinsocialmedia,nonehavebeenscientificallyproventobeeffective.Thereisnomagicpotionforbeatinghangovers—andonlytimecanhelp.Apersonmustwaitforthebodytofinishclearingthetoxicbyproductsofalcoholmetabolism,torehydrate,tohealirritatedtissue,andtorestoreimmuneandbrainactivitytonormal.Thereisnowaytospeedupthebrain’srecoveryfromalcoholuse—drinkingcoffee,takingashower,orhavinganalcoholicbeveragethenextmorningwillnotcureahangover. Somepeopletakeover-the-counterpainrelievers(oftenacetaminophen)beforegoingtobedtominimizehangovers.Itisimportanttorecognizethatthecombinationofalcoholandacetaminophencanbetoxictotheliver.Likealcohol,certainover-the-counterpainrelievers,includingaspirinandibuprofen,canincreaseacidreleaseandirritatetheliningofthestomach.Proceedwithcautionwhenusingthesemedicationsbeforeorafterconsumingalcohol. Tohelpeasetheirhangoversymptoms,somepeopleturntoelectrolyte-richsportsdrinksorotherproducts,orevenintravenous(IV)treatments,inanefforttotreatelectrolyteimbalancecausedbyincreasedurinationandfluidlossasaresultofdrinking.Researchhasnotfoundacorrelationbetweentheextentofelectrolytedisruptionsandtheseverityofhangovers,ortheimpactofaddedelectrolytesonhangoverseverity.Inmostpeople,thebodywillquicklyrestoreelectrolytebalanceoncetheeffectsofalcoholsubside. Ultimately,theonlysurefireremedyforahangoveristoavoidgettingonebydrinkinginmoderationorchoosingnottodrink. Formoreinformation,pleasevisit: https://www.niaaa.nih.gov BacktoTop Updated: March2021 DownloadPDF(351.19KB) Spanish/Enespañol ThisFactSheetisAlsoAvailableintheFollowingLanguages Amharic/አማርኛ(PDF-217KB) Arabic/العربية(PDF-285KB) Chinese(simplified)/中文(简体)(PDF-257KB) Chinese(traditional)/中文(繁體)(PDF-645KB) Farsi/فارسی(PDF-331KB) French/Français(PDF-409KB) HaitianCreole/KreyòlAyisyen(PDF-232KB) Italian/Italiano(PDF-257KB) Japanese/日本語(PDF-268KB) Korean/한국어(PDF-338KB) Polish/JęzykPolski(PDF-471KB) Portuguese/Português(PDF-330KB) Russian/Русский(PDF350KB) Tagalog/WikangTagalog(PDF-241KB) Vietnamese/TiếngViệt(PDF-301KB)