Table of contents:
- Why did the hangover happen?
- Three wrong ways to deal with a hangover
- 1. "Rinsing" leftover alcohol overnight with fresh alcohol
- 2. Drink juice or coffee
- 3. Take pain relievers before bed
Hangovers are a group of symptoms that usually appear in the morning after drinking too much liquor. You may be more familiar with the term "drunk". However, the medical term used to describe a hangover is "veisalgia" - from the Norwegian "kveis" which means "restlessness after debauchery".
Signs and symptoms of a hangover include headache, feeling unwell, dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, and thirst. This can last all day. In addition to physical symptoms, increased feelings of anxiety, anxiety, regret, shame, and depression symptoms can also appear as a hangover.
Why did the hangover happen?
Scientists and doctors do not yet fully understand what causes a hangover, aka drunkenness or drunkenness. What we do know, a hangover is a side effect of the body's immune system being overwhelmed by alcohol levels that exceed tolerance limits.
A hangover occurs when you are drinking adjacent glasses of alcohol at a time. Reporting from the Medical Daily, drinking more or less alcohol has indeed proven to be beneficial for health. For example, alcohol can lower the risk of heart disease by increasing levels of good cholesterol, or lowering the risk of cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer's and dementia, by 23 percent. All these benefits can be obtained if alcohol is consumed within reasonable limits.
However, liver enzymes convert the alcohol in the body into acetaldehyde, which is actually dangerous. It takes at least an hour for the body to be able to process these toxic chemical compounds into acetate, a chemical compound that is safe for the body.
Three wrong ways to deal with a hangover
There are many false myths out there about effective ways to cure a hangover. But, wrongly, this habit can actually make the side effects of drinking alcohol worse. Anything?
1. "Rinsing" leftover alcohol overnight with fresh alcohol
Reporting from WebMD, the hangover effect begins to occur when the level of alcohol in the blood decreases; the worst symptoms will strike you when the blood alcohol level reaches zero. Starting from this statement, the myth arises that drinking alcohol in the morning will alleviate the effect of a hangover.
In an unconscious state, the digestive system will be in a resting phase and work slows down. Thus, the process of acetaldehyde metabolism will also be delayed. Drinking alcoholic beverages in the morning to "flush" the remaining alcohol last night will actually increase the toxicity of alcohol in the body, and can lead to more drinking.
The severity of the hangover will depend on your blood alcohol level, how fast and how much you drink. So, the more you drink, the acetaldehyde levels in the body will also accumulate. The liver will need extra energy and time to metabolize it. This means that the worse the drunken effect you will feel all day long.
During a hangover, you are likely to become dehydrated and deficient in important minerals, such as magnesium and potassium. Symptoms of dehydration include headache, dry mouth, spinning head, and thirst. You're also more likely to feel nauseous. Alcohol is an irritant that can cause inflammation of the lining of the stomach and indigestion.
Some of these symptoms will be worse if you drink heavy alcohol in the morning, such as whiskey, than if you drink more thin drinks, such as beer.
2. Drink juice or coffee
The reasons behind these two myths seem to stem from the symptoms of dehydration that are common after hangovers. According to many stories, drinking detox juice in the morning will speed up the metabolic process of eliminating toxic alcohol from the body.
The problem is, it will take just gallons of fruit and vegetables to meet the sugar levels your system needs to actually change its metabolic rate. In addition, there have been many studies that reveal that juice actually slows down the metabolism of alcohol.
While the trick of drinking detox juices might work for you, you still have to deal with spikes in insulin and blood sugar in your body. The two of them are even as bad as a hangover.
It's the same with coffee. While the side effects of drinking too much coffee will overpower the pain of your hangover, of course insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, stomach aches, nausea and vomiting, heart palpitations, and rapid breathing are not your desired solutions.
Drink water or electrolyte fluids instead of the two drinks above. Drink a large glass of water for every glass of alcohol you drink throughout the night. As a guide: 1 shot = 1 glass of wine = 1 bottle of beer = 1 large glass of water. Drink water at night in between your alcohol, before bed, and after waking up in the morning. Water is the best source of fluids. Apart from that, this technique also helps you to regulate your alcohol consumption.
3. Take pain relievers before bed
Don't take acetaminophen before bed, no matter what the myths say. When the body is in a normal state, acetaminophen is indeed effective for relieving pain. But, after drinking glasses of alcohol, acetaminophen can be toxic to your body.
During the night, the liver works hard to process the alcohol in the body so that the acetaminophen you take before bed is processed in separate ways and turns it into toxic compounds. As a side effect, you will experience liver inflammation and permanent liver damage.
Antacids can reduce nausea and indigestion due to high alcohol intake. Aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs can help relieve muscle pain and headaches. However, anti-inflammatory drugs are irritating agents that can make stomach pain worse.
The best alternative is ibuprofen. As long as you don't consume it before bed. The reason is, the effectiveness of ibuprofen only lasts for about four hours, so you won't feel it in the morning. Try to wake up before you get up in the morning and take ibuprofen. It may take a big struggle for you to get up and reach for the drug, but you will feel much better in the morning.
In addition, make sure your stomach is full before you start drinking. The valve in the stomach closes as soon as digestion begins and it will take a long time for the alcohol to get into your system. A filling meal will allow your stomach to focus on slowing down the movement of food and fluids through your body so that digestion can occur. However, choose foods that are high in fat and protein (not junk food) to help regulate the absorption of alcohol in the body.
