Hang In There: The Science Behind the Post-Night Out Plague

30 IMPACT Hang in there: The science behind the post-night out plague

It’s Thursday morning, you’ve missed your 9am, and it feels like someone is trying to drill through your skull. Have you ever wondered: ‘Why me?’. Well, wonder no more.

Hangovers are the experience of unpleasant physiological and psychological effects caused by consumption of medium to high volumes of alcohol. In the liver, alcohol is broken down by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) into acetaldehyde, then to carbon dioxide and water. If you suffer from terrible hangovers, it might be because you possess a genetic variant of ADH which performs this breakdown slowly. The resultant build-up of acetaldehyde, which is poisonous, causes nausea.

Alcohol also affects neurotransmitters: it activates GABA and inhibits the natural stimulant glutamate, sedating your brain. This imbalance affects memory and correlates with alcohol withdrawal symptoms the next day. After you stop drinking, your body increases glutamate production to redress the glutamate-GABA balance. This stimulant overload is called glutamate rebound. It causes anxiety and headaches, alongside preventing deep sleep, thus causing fatigue the next day. When you’re dashing for the bathroom the morning after, thank your immune system. Damage to your gut caused by alcohol triggers inflammation as part of your natural immune response, causing nausea, diarrhoea, and vomiting.

“For freshers and graduates alike, here are the best evidence-based tips.”

So, how do we cure this ‘never-drinking-again’ sensation? Well, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the answer is: we don’t. Our bodies mainly rely on time to eliminate the toxic by-products of ethanol metabolism and restore immune and neurological function. However, we can attempt to alleviate the symptoms. For freshers and graduates alike, here are the best evidence-based tips.

First. Breakfast is key. Raising our blood sugar levels is typically the first step in improving symptoms. Excessive drinking can increase blood acidity and lower blood sugar. Eating food will also help replenish lost vitamins and minerals – improving immunological and neurological function.

Second. It sounds patronising at this point but keeping hydrated whilst drinking will ultimately decide how you feel the next day. By replenishing fluids, there’s a lower chance of the accompanying fatigue and headaches. Even better, make your own ‘rehydration solution’ (mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and a 3/4 teaspoon of salt in 4 cups of water) and you can help restore your electrolytes.

“Switching to vodka may not have any considerable benefit”

During ethanol fermentation, by-products called congeners are produced. Levels are increased in whiskey & red wine and reduced in vodka and gin. It’s believed that congeners slow alcohol metabolism - thereby prolonging that post-CRISIS hangover. Unfortunately, the ethanol content of your drink tends to have a greater influence on your hangover than congeners – and thus, switching to vodka may not have any considerable benefit.

Ultimately, hangovers are a common yet uncomfortable feature of student culture, but we can either learn to restrain ourselves next time… or be human. After all, wasn’t last night worth it?

By Evelyn Alex and Adam Goriparthi Illustration by Gemma Cockrell Page Design by Chiara Crompton