What A Hangover Is All About
Alcohol intake does many things with the body’s system that people may not be aware of. That is why it is important to have a deep understanding about drinking and its effects.
Alcohol is a diuretic, making drinkers to urinate frequently. And eventually be dehydrated especially if the lost water and nutrients are not regained. Alcohol enters the bloodstream and prevents the pituitary gland to produce the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin that is needed by the kidney to reabsorb the water. Absence of vasopressin makes the water goes directly into the bladder, making drinkers produce urine quickly.
Based on scientific studies, drinking an amount of 250 milliliters of liquor makes the body expel 800-1,000 milliliters of water, it is a clear figure, there is four times of liquid that is lost by the body. The diuretic effect decreases at the same time the alcohol in the bloodstream also decreases but the effects are the ones which give drinkers the hangover.
The moment you wake up the following day, you feel having a dry mouth, this signals that the water lost needs to be replenished. Due to dehydration, you feel a throbbing headache because the organs of the body try hard to regain the lost water by stealing water from the brain, making the brain decrease its size and there will be a pressure on the membranes that connect the skull and brain, and this is what creates the pain.
Urinating frequently also excretes potassium and salts in the body that are essential for the nerve and muscle functions of the body. The low levels of potassium and sodium causes the headache, fatigue and nausea when having hangover. Alcohol also turns the glycogen in the body into glucose which is also sent out as urine. This results to fatigue, weakness and lack of body coordination during a hangover. Electrolytes like potassium and magnesium which are also essential for the function of the cells are also excreted from the body because of the alcohol.
The different types of alcoholic beverages cause different symptoms and types of hangovers because of some factors.
The level or concentration of congeners is one of the factors. Liquors with darker color (contains more congeners) can cause more terrible hangovers than those clear or colorless liquors (contain less congeners). This is one reason why mixing drinks is a big no-no.
Acetaldehyde, which is a byproduct of alcohol, is more toxic than alcohol. It is stored in the body for a longer time resulting to headaches and vomiting. This makes the hangover worse. Some of the signs associated with acetaldehyde and glutamine are fatigue, a feeling of illness and irritation in the stomach.
Sleeping is affected by alcohol intake because of the effect of glutamine in the body. The sleep is not as normal as before. The high levels of glutamine stimulate the drinkers’ brain preventing them from getting their deep sleep. This is one factor contributing to having fatigue during a hangover. Other effects of the glutamine are anxiety, tremors, feeling restless and high blood pressure.
Because of alcohol, the stomach linings are also irritated. The stomach becomes acidic and thus makes a drinker to feel like vomiting. Though vomiting helps in decrease the toxins in the body but it can also cause diarrhea and lack of appetite.
Now that you have more knowledge about hangovers, you may want to think twice before drinking too much again.