The effects of a hard day of drinking on a Badger game day can be felt long after the final seconds tick off the clock. Many students choose to drink, but few understand what causes them to feel so crummy the next day. But despite the prevalence of hangovers, this condition is often a mystery to scientists as well.
Scientists do know that there are multiple contributors to the hangover state. Alcohol has a direct effect on urine production, the gastrointestinal tract, blood sugar concentrations, sleep patterns and biological rhythms. One's individual metabolism of alcohol and non-alcoholic compounds can also have an effect and may cause different levels of hangovers from person to person.
Folk remedies and commercial products claim to reduce the effects of hangovers, but the claims these products make are not supported by results from clinical tests. A recent study on hangover cures was done by the Department of Psychopharmacology at the University of Utrecht. In this study, randomized trials were done to test the effectiveness of eight common hangover cures. The results of this study showed that not one of the remedies reversed the test population's hangover symptoms.
Readers know all too well the physical symptoms of a hangover can include fatigue, headache, increased sensitivity to light and sound, redness of the eyes, muscle aches, nausea and thirst. Signs of increased sympathetic nervous system activity, such as increased blood pressure, rapid heartbeat and sweating, can also accompany a hangover. Hangover symptoms typically begin within several hours after you have stopped drinking and when your blood alcohol content begins to decrease.
Alcohol may directly contribute to a hangover in several ways. First, alcohol can cause dehydration and electrolyte imbalance because of increased urinary output. Alcohol promotes urine production by inhibiting the release of an antidiuretic hormone from the pituitary gland, preventing the kidneys from reabsorbing water and then causing an increase urine production. This effectively causes you to excrete more than you have been consuming.
Sweating, vomiting and diarrhea also commonly occur during a hangover, and these conditions can cause additional fluid loss and electrolyte imbalances. Symptoms of dehydration include thirst, weakness, dryness of mucous membranes, dizziness and lightheadedness. All of these symptoms are commonly observed during a hangover.
Alcohol also causes gastrointestinal disturbances. Alcohol directly irritates the stomach and intestines, causing inflammation of the stomach lining and delayed stomach emptying. Any or all of these factors can result in the upper abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting experienced during a hangover.
The fatigue experienced after a night of drinking may also be from alcohol's disruption of normal sleep patterns. Although a student may be able to sleep in after a long night of drinking, they may still feel exhausted because an alcohol-induced sleep decreases the time spent in REM sleep. A lack of time spent in this sleep stage can lead to a shorter, more disrupted sleep pattern.
Additives to alcoholic beverages may also increase the symptoms of a hangover. These additives, called congeners, are produced during the fermentation process and add to the taste, smell and appearance of the beverages. Scientists now believe that these congeners contribute to a beverage's intoxicating effects and cause the inevitable hangover. Research shows that pure drinks like gin or vodka induce fewer hangover effects than beverages with a larger amount of congeners like whiskey or red wine.
Now at this point you may be wondering, isn't there anything I can do to prevent a hangover? Sadly, there is no miracle cure, but there are a few steps you can take to decrease your chances of a hangover the next day. Taking a nap before a night out will help prevent post-drinking fatigue. Trying not to drink on an empty stomach will slow down the absorption of alcohol, and having a glass of water for each drink can help prevent the effects of dehydration. Using aspirin and ibuprofen while drinking can be dangerous because your stomach is already in an inflamed state, and this combination can lead to ulcers and gastritis. Another common cure is to drink more alcohol the next day, like in a bloody mary. This too, however, is not a good idea because it is only a temporary solution and will continue to put a strain on your liver. Ultimately the only foolproof prevention is not to drink too much.
-Joe Sibley
