New Year’s Eve parties often leave you with a headache the next morning. There are many factors that contribute to hangover. We share some tips on what to do about hangovers.
A hangover cannot always be avoided, but there are ways to relieve it.
The head hurts, the stomach rebels, the limbs feel heavy. Two drinks would have been enough, you think. But now it’s too late. It is important to endure the unpleasant state, it is only temporary. But why exactly does alcohol cause headaches? And are there any effective ways to make the symptoms go away faster?
The cause of a hangover, by definition, is alcohol, or more specifically, ethanol. “Ethanol affects many organs and almost every system in the brain. Many factors therefore contribute to the fact that alcohol leads to a hangover,” says Emily Palmer, a researcher at Imperial College London.
The exact mechanisms underlying a hangover are not fully understood. There is evidence that the immune system plays a role.
Palmer says alcohol is toxic inflammatory processes in the body – also in the brain. Messenger substances of the immune system, so-called cytokines, are increased after alcohol consumption. This reaction of the immune system could be responsible for nausea, headaches, depressed mood.
Alcohol also disrupts sleep. Although many fall asleep faster, sleep is mainly in the second half of the night impaired, and you wake up more often. Fatigue, irritability, lethargy are consequences the next morning.
Another factor that can contribute to hangovers is the disruption of water balance in the body. Alcohol is a diuretic. This means that it increases the urge to urinate. This can lead to dehydration, which in turn can cause headaches or dizziness.
There is a lack of scientific evidence for many hangover medications
There are many purported remedies for hangover symptoms online, but most have little or no scientific evidence.
Aspirin, for example, is a popular hangover remedy. The drug belongs to the so-called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), a group of painkillers that have an anti-inflammatory effect. Palmer says that because alcohol causes inflammation in the body, such drugs could potentially ease some hangover symptoms. While there hasn’t been a study examining aspirin, scientists have been able to demonstratethat loxoprofen – a drug that also belongs to the group of NSAIDs – helps against headaches after drinking alcohol.
Other methods of relieving a hangover often revolve around dietary supplements. There are Hints that clove extract, ginseng and pear juice can help against hangovers.
In addition, the chemical compound N-acetylcysteine (NAC) may relieve hangover symptoms. A scientist points to this report from 2021 in the specialist magazine “Nature”. However, NAC only helped women, no improvements were seen in men.
The authors of the NAC study suspect that NAC helps break down toxic products. Because alcohol produces toxic by-products in the body, including acetaldehyde. These metabolites cause oxidative stress. This means that chemical reactions can damage cells and their functions. Antioxidants counteract this. NAC is a precursor to one of the most important antioxidants in the body. The study team suggests that NAC helps fight oxidative stress, helps break down toxic metabolites, and makes hangovers more bearable. However, the exact mechanism of action has not been investigated.
Overall, the evidence on the effectiveness of hangover medication is very weak. Only a few researchers are dealing with it, and there are only individual studies on the means.
Even if it says “scientifically tested” on a preparation, you should take a closer look. Often it is not serious research. For example the anti-hangover pill myrcl, which has received a lot of media attention. Their promise: You take the pills before drinking and wake up the next day without a headache. The effects are scientifically proven, it says on the website. But the study, which is intended to prove the effectiveness, is financed by the manufacturer itself. In addition, the study team did not examine whether the pill helps against hangovers. It only measured the alcohol level of the subjects.
So in most cases you can save the money for miracle cures for hangovers. Still, there are some tips on how you can possibly relieve a hangover.
What actually helps with hangovers?
It is clear that those who completely avoid alcohol or consume smaller amounts are less exhausted the next day. But what if you drink too much?
Because disturbed sleep and dehydration can increase discomfort, it is important to get as much sleep as possible and to drink plenty of water in the evening and the morning after.
How fast you drink also plays a role. Palmer says: “The severity of a hangover is related to the peak blood alcohol level.” In order to prevent the headache as much as possible, one should keep the peak of the alcohol level low. It is clear that the amount of alcohol consumed determines the level. However, the speed with which the cup is poured also has an influence. If you take more time for the same amount of alcohol, you will have less alcohol in your blood than if you drink quickly.
Anyone who gets drunk should eat “bödele” beforehand, i.e. a lot and fat, in order to tolerate the alcohol better and prevent a hangover – that’s the rule. This is not wrong, because the absorption of the alcohol is slowed down and the peak of the level is flattened. But whether certain foods eaten before or during drinking are better at protecting against hangovers than others is still unclear in science.
Alcohol is not just alcohol. So-called congeners can be produced in addition to ethanol during production. This happens through fermentation and distillation and is particularly the case with red wine or dark spirits such as bourbon whiskey. “Congeners can make a hangover worse,” says Palmer. Include clear alcoholic beverages such as vodka fewer congeners and may cause lesser hangover symptoms.
While many yearn for a way to completely prevent hangovers, perhaps it’s better that there isn’t one. That would only lead to higher alcohol consumption.