Why do we get headaches the day after getting drunk?
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Interesting point to add: I stopped drinking few years ago and can still get a headache after socialising. I noticed it mostly happens when I go to bed way later than usually.
Interesting point to add: I stopped drinking few years ago and can still get a headache after socialising. I noticed it mostly happens when I go to bed way later than usually.
Alcohol is literal poison and your body doesn’t like that very much so it goes “ow” the next day. That’s also why when you drink too much, you throw up, because your body wants to get that poison out of it as fast as possible so you don’t die.
Alcohol is literal poison and your body doesn’t like that very much so it goes “ow” the next day. That’s also why when you drink too much, you throw up, because your body wants to get that poison out of it as fast as possible so you don’t die.
There’s a lot of talk about it being an inflammatory response, but it’s really simple.
Dehydration.
Alcohol isn’t water. If you’re drinking 10% alcoholic beverages, then only 90% of that is potentially water.
On top of that, alcohol inhibits vasopressin, which is the hormone that regulates how much urine your body makes. Without it, your body gets scared and just dumps water as fast as possible. So you pee more.
Add those two together, and you have dehydration.
What’s the first symptom of dehydration? A headache. Second? Upset stomach.
You need to retain water to prevent dehydration. Drinking more water doesn’t help much. Consuming water and electrolytes, specifically sodium, keeps your kidneys from effectively managing to pass water to the bladder.
When the alcohol metabolizes out, you need to be hydrated. Gatorade, Powerade (in both cases, the zero sugar options are fine; you’re focused on liquid and salt), fruit juice, or my personal favorite, ice water and saltine crackers.
Back to inflammation, acute dehydration causes inflammation. Inflammation is probably the physical cause of the headache, but the inflammation is directly caused by the dehydration, so dehydration is the cause.
There’s a lot of talk about it being an inflammatory response, but it’s really simple.
Dehydration.
Alcohol isn’t water. If you’re drinking 10% alcoholic beverages, then only 90% of that is potentially water.
On top of that, alcohol inhibits vasopressin, which is the hormone that regulates how much urine your body makes. Without it, your body gets scared and just dumps water as fast as possible. So you pee more.
Add those two together, and you have dehydration.
What’s the first symptom of dehydration? A headache. Second? Upset stomach.
You need to retain water to prevent dehydration. Drinking more water doesn’t help much. Consuming water and electrolytes, specifically sodium, keeps your kidneys from effectively managing to pass water to the bladder.
When the alcohol metabolizes out, you need to be hydrated. Gatorade, Powerade (in both cases, the zero sugar options are fine; you’re focused on liquid and salt), fruit juice, or my personal favorite, ice water and saltine crackers.
Back to inflammation, acute dehydration causes inflammation. Inflammation is probably the physical cause of the headache, but the inflammation is directly caused by the dehydration, so dehydration is the cause.
Does formaldehyde exacerbate the dehydration problems? I remember reading that years ago, especially in connection with cheaper brands
Does formaldehyde exacerbate the dehydration problems? I remember reading that years ago, especially in connection with cheaper brands
If you’re probably going to be pretty drunk, put a bottle of water ready next to your bed and drink it before going to sleep.
Or alternate between alcohol and water during the binging. It’ll keep the hydration up a bit.
If you’re probably going to be pretty drunk, put a bottle of water ready next to your bed and drink it before going to sleep.
Or alternate between alcohol and water during the binging. It’ll keep the hydration up a bit.
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