Hangovers, more than just a headache
Sore head, dry mouth, tiredness. The symptoms of a hangover will be familiar to most of us. But whilst you might be tempted to write off the day it’s worth thinking about what’s happening inside that’s making you feel so rough.
When we get a hangover it’s because our body is reacting to the ethanol in our drinks. Ethanol is a chemical and diuretic. Put simply, the liver works hard to flush out the alcohol, but when the body runs short of water it starts raiding your internal reserves. As it sources water from your other organs – including your brain, the result is a level of dehydration that causes a cracking headache.
Of course, binge drinking, mixing drinks and even drinking lots of darker coloured drinks can make it worse.
Heavy drinking has a knock-on effect on your sleep, meaning that although you might crash out on the bed you’re body only gets shallow and interrupted sleep rather than the healing brought from deep REM sleep.
There’s no way of curing a hangover – apart from drinking less in the future. Our bodies process alcohol at a rate of about one unit an hour, so the thing you need is time.
But whilst we might be tempted to brush it off as the temporary punishment for a heavy night, it’s important to consider the impact on basic functioning the morning after. Tiredness, lack of concentration and irritability are common signs – many people will also find they still have a high level of alcohol in their system. Across the country it is estimated that over 200,000 days are lost to hangovers every year – with employees writing off an average of one day per month to them. With figures like that it’s easy to see why hangovers are more than just a personal headache, they are a serious pain for businesses and the economy too.
