How come if I go to sleep after drinking, I wake up with cotton mouth and other symptoms, but if I just stayed awake none of that happens? Even if I don’t drink water or electrolytes during the time I’m awake.
Is it just a case of the body slowly adapting while awake vs. kind of “shocked” between two states when I sleep and wake up?
In: Biology
It’s not just one thing. Alcohol dehydrates you, hence the cotton mouth, your blood sugar levels drop, hence the tiredness and desire for stodgy food and, whilst you fall asleep quickly you don’t sleep well (I think your body releases adrenaline to help break down the booze) so you wake up still tired.
All of the above is a hangover
Your body has a step by step process to break down alcohol. One of chemicals formed in this process is called acetaldehyde. This chemical is inflammatory to the body and is responsible for the majority of “hangover” symptoms.
You may have heard about formaldehyde, which is most commonly associated with the preservation of human cadavers, organs, and tissues (dead people). It is closely related to acetaldehyde and can make you feel similarly if ingested.
Both formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are carcinogens. This means they are linked with cancer.
Your body breaks alcohol down slower when you’re sleeping than when you’re awake. Your liver breaks alcohol down into different pieces. One of those pieces is toxic and causes the negative effects of a hangover. They linger in the body too long while you’re asleep. If you can stay awake a few hours after stopping drinking, you’ll lessen your hangover.
All the above is true but I will add that alcohol is a vaso dilator which in your body isn’t that big of a deal but in your brain the day after definitely is. Now the question is why not if u stay awake? To be honest i don’t know the answer other than humans brains be mad complicated
Mostly dehydration, poor sleep (you may pass out or fall asleep quickly while drunk, but it is poor quality sleep, gastrointestinal irritation from the alcohol, inflammation (leads to malaise and feeling like a cold is coming on), and as mentioned in another comment, acetaldehyde exposure.
I’m an advanced practice nurse.
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