SOUTHEAST N.C. — It’s the start of a new decade, but perhaps you overindulged in New Year’s Eve festivities and are paying the price. While an ounce of prevention can be worth a pound of cure, hindsight is always 20/20.
Most people know how to get a hangover, but the specifics are different than most people might expect.
“The key ingredient seems to be ‘drinking to intoxication’; how much you drank to get there is less important. In fact, several studies suggest that light and moderate drinkers are more vulnerable to getting a hangover than heavy drinkers. Yet there’s also seemingly contradictory research showing that people with a family history of alcoholism have worse hangovers. Researchers say some people may end up with drinking problems because they drink in an effort to relieve hangover symptoms,” according to Harvard Health Publishing.
From headaches to ‘the spins,’ hangovers cause a variety of symptoms for a variety of reasons.
“Drinking interferes with brain activity during sleep, so a hangover may be a form of sleep deprivation. Alcohol scrambles the hormones that regulate our biological clocks, which may be why a hangover can feel like jet lag, and vice versa. Alcohol can also trigger migraines, so some people may think they’re hungover when it’s really an alcohol-induced migraine they’re suffering,” according to Harvard’s publication.
It’s all interesting stuff, but most people want to know one thing — how to cure it.
Getting rid of that hangover
According to Harvard Health, there are seven suggested steps to getting rid of the day-after hangover.
“Dr. Robert Swift, a researcher at the Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Rhode Island, co-authored one of the few review papers on hangovers in 1998. It’s still one of the most frequently cited sources on the topic,” according to the site.
Hair of the dog — While it might seem nauseating to think about, drinking more alcohol can have a potentially positive effect on treating a hangover. However, Swift does not suggest this route of easing the pain as it is simply prolonging the drinking of alcohol.
Drink fluids — We’ve all heard it before, a hangover is simply a bad case of dehydration. While it is somewhat true, it is not the sole reason for a hangover, still, drinking fluids can help.
“Alcohol promotes urination because it inhibits the release of vasopressin, a hormone that decreases the volume of urine made by the kidneys. If your hangover includes diarrhea, sweating, or vomiting, you may be even more dehydrated. Although nausea can make it difficult to get anything down, even just a few sips of water might help your hangover,” according to Harvard.
Eat carbs — Since drinking can lower blood sugar levels, eating carbs (like toast and some sugary juice) can help bring sugar levels up slowly.
Avoid darker colored alcohol — Label this suggestion as one for the future as it poses little help during a hangover.
According to Harvard, “Experiments have shown that clear liquors, such as vodka and gin, tend to cause hangovers less frequently than dark ones, such as whiskey, red wine, and tequila. The main form of alcohol in alcoholic beverages is ethanol, but the darker liquors contain chemically related compounds (congeners), including methanol.”
Take over the counter pain relief (but not Tylenol) — NSAID pain relievers like ibuprofen and aspirin can help ease the pains of a hangover. But avoid Tylenol or acetaminophen after drinking as it can increase in toxicity to the liver.
Drink coffee or tea — The caffeine in coffee and tea can help relieve grogginess, according to Harvard, but it is a diuretic that could actually lead to more dehydration.
