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THE MORNING AFTER THE NIGHT BEFORE
With drinking as much a part of everyday student life as the occasional lecture, Dave Lamont looks
at why we get hangovers and how to beat them.
By Dave Lamont
Deputy Editor
Alcohol famously eases inhibitions, relaxes the drinker and more often than not makes for a good night. But, like all the good things in life, enjoy it a little too much and you'll pay the price. When it comes to drinking, that price is usually a hangover.
Too much alcohol essentially acts as a poison. This causes the stomach to inflame, induces the kidneys to produce more urine, dehydrating the body, and can damage and incapacitate brain cells. Every part of the body, except the brain, becomes dehydrated. Instead, the brain becomes waterlogged, leading to swelling. It is the brain pressing against the skull that often triggers a headache, the first sign of an impending hangover.
Alcohol also impacts upon the body's sugar levels. In response to the intake of sugar-crammed alcoholic drinks, the pancreas produces a higher than normal quantity of insulin. When a person stops drinking they are essentially in the same state as a diabetic patient who has taken too much insulin: they are suffering from hypoglycaemia. This can trigger sweating, shaking, poor balance and the individual may even pass out.
Hangovers explained
Most people build up some form of immunity to alcohol, meaning the local barfly is able to tolerate up to a third more than an occasional drinker. The amount it takes for a person to become drunk varies completely from person to person. A common misconception is that a drinker can only experience a hangover if they were drunk the previous night. Drunkenness simply depends on a person's capacity and the amount of alcohol consumed. A hangover depends on a number of other factors, including a person's age, their sex, what they were drinking and even the mood they were in at the time.
If drinkers are feeling happy and confident they may escape the hangover they probably deserve. If someone is depressed or unhappy, they may experience a hangover after just a few drinks.
A hangover's severity is determined by the number of congeners in a drink. These are natural organic chemicals that provide a drink with its particular taste, colour and smell. The paler the drink, the less likely it is to be carrying a tasty but hangover-inducing level of congeners. Vodka and gin are less likely to contribute to a hangover than whisky or brandy for example, whereas red wines can trigger a worse hangover than white.
Women and alcohol
Alcohol absorption rates depend on a number of factors; whether someone has eaten beforehand, what they are drinking, their experience, and their gender. Women lack one of the lesser enzyme systems that allows men to handle alcohol more effectively. Men also have twice the amount of the essential alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme, used by the stomach, to women.
Because women fail to metabolise alcohol in their stomachs, it enters the small intestines and the liver. This allows the alcohol a quicker route into the bloodstream, making women more susceptible than men to becoming drunk quickly.
The speed a woman is able to metabolise alcohol also depends on the stage of her monthly cycle. When a period is due, the woman will become drunk more easily and often experience a more severe hangover.
Hangovers and eating
Most people know that eating before drinking delays the absorption of alcohol, slowing the onset of drunkenness. This is particularly true if the food contains fat, as this triggers the release of a hormone that ensures alcohol will remain in the stomach longer, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream at a slower rate. The faster alcohol is absorbed, the quicker a person will become drunk and the worse their hangover is likely to be the following day.
Curing a hangover
The Roman politician Cato claimed that a bowl of stewed cabbage topped with raw almonds would see off any hangover. That may not be to everyone's liking but he was on the right track. A high protein breakfast will restore the blood sugar levels to a normal and constant level, helping to alleviate the headache, sweating, and nausea associated with a hangover.
Coffee has a somewhat undeserved reputation as a hangover cure - several cups of sweet tea or a glass or fruit juice will have greater effect. A bowl of porridge or bacon and eggs are the perfect partner, as they will help to slowly restore blood sugar levels to normal.
The headache should ease as this takes place, and a couple of paracetamol or something similar will do no harm.
Drink to good health
The good news for drinkers is that a sensible daily intake of alcohol can help them to live longer. Most doctors agree that alcohol, red wine especially, protects the heart and arteries when consumed in modest amounts. Evidence has shown that those consuming more than 6 units a day will die younger, whereas women who drink fewer than 3 units and men fewer than 4 units a day may live longer. Some experts have claimed that teetotallers are likely to die at the same rate as someone having six drinks daily, indicating that abstinence may not necessarily be the healthiest option.
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