5 Hangover Myths

5 hangover myths

As long as there has been alcohol, there have been hangovers. And as long as there have been hangovers, there have been theories about preventing them and curing them. Unfortunately, these traditional ideas about hangovers often do not work. Here are the 5 most common hangover myths:

1. Drinking more alcohol will get rid of a hangover:

The hangover myth that the best cure for a hangover is “The hair of the dog that bit you”, i.e. more alcohol, has been around for a long time.  This is also the worst thing you can do unless you don’t have anything productive to do for the rest of the day. Drinking more alcohol won’t cure your hangover in the long run-it just gets you drunk again. Your hangover will most likely be worse when you finally feel it because you’re just adding fuel to the fire.

2. Taking aspirin while you drink can prevent a hangover:

Many people subscribe to this hangover myth. Unfortunately, it does not work and can be very dangerous. First of all, the effects of aspirin or any other over the counter painkiller will wear off by the time you start developing hangover symptoms. In addition, aspirin increases acid concentration in the stomach and does nothing to help eliminate alcohol from the body. Aspirin actually increases blood alcohol levels when taken before drinking, so your hangover will likely be worse.

3.   Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear. Beer before liquor, never sicker:

Almost everyone has heard this hangover myth. Basically, the rumor is that if you drink liquor, then beer, you won’t be sick the next day. However, if chase beer with liquor, you will get sick. This hangover is in fact, not true. Whether you get a hangover from alcohol consumption is based on your Blood Alcohol Content and has nothing to do with the type of alcoholic beverage you consume.   There is nothing about the chemistry of these drinks that influences whether or not you will get sick the next time. What tends to happen is that once you start drinking beer your reluctance to drink more disappears and when you move on to the ‘hard stuff’ you are likely to drink faster.

4. Drinking coffee will sober you up quickly:

There are no shortcuts to sobriety. The body processes alcohol at the rate of 0.15 percent of blood alcohol content per hour. This is true regardless of age, weight, gender, or race. Another hangover myth is that drinking coffee is a good cure for a hangover. While it might wake you up, but the dehydration of a hangover will only be made worse by coffee.

5. Eating before bed will absorb the alcohol in your stomach and prevent a hangover:

This hangover myth does not actually work. Food has to be in your stomach before you drink to help a hangover. If you eat before you drink, alcohol is delivered to your bloodstream more slowly, giving it less of a chance to reach high levels.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Hangover Myths

Hangover Myths

Hangover Myths

Hangover Myths

There are tons of hangover cures on the market today. Whether those hangover cures actually work though has yet to be determined. For every actual remedy for a hangover, there are two hangover myths. So here are the top hangover myths that you most likely have heard of to take care of your morning after blues.

1.       Aspirin or ibuprofen while you drink can help with the headache.

THAT IS A HUGE HANGOVER MYTH.

The truth is that aspirin while you drink or after a hangover should be an absolute no-no. Aspirin increases acid in your hurting stomach and does absolutely nothing to get rid of the alcohol in your body. In fact this statement is so mythological because the contrary is true. Aspirin actually increases the blood alcohol levels by about 25% if you take it before drinking. Ibuprofen is also not recommended as a hangover cure because it can cause damage to your liver when it’s mixed with copious amounts of alcoholic beverages.

2.       Wine doesn’t give you a hangover, vodka does.

THAT’S A HANGOVER MYTH!

The truth behind the hangover myth is that red wine can in fact leave you with more of a hangover than vodka. It has something to do with congeners that are in alcohol. Congeners are toxic and when you drink these get strewn all though out your body. Dark colored drinks such as brandy, whiskey, and.  . .you guessed it! Red wine has more congeners than clear alcohol such as vodka and white wine.

3.       Beer before liquor makes you sicker

THIS IS A CLASSIC HANGOVER MYTH

You have followed this hangover myth for ages were guessing. The truth behind this hangover myth though is that nothing about the chemistry of drinks interacting with each other makes you sick the next day. How this came about is probably a story about someone whose reluctance to drink the harder stuff disappeared after drinking a few beers.

4.       Drink lots of water the morning after

HANGOVER MYTH!

You are probably surprised by this one. Drinking water the morning after definitely will help with your hangover the next day but it is actually much more important and helpful if you’re drinking water with your alcoholic beverages. If you don’t drink water while drinking alcohol your body will use the water where it’s needed due to the alcohol dehydrating you and you won’t ever really get hydrated to the point of feeling better.

5.       Hair of the dog

HANGOVER MYTH AND WERE NOT SURPRISED.

This hangover myth has long since its conception become folklore. The claim is that if you drink more alcohol in the morning it will cure your hangover. All drinking more alcohol will do is delay the hangover; it won’t get rid of it all together. More alcoholic drinks just boost the body’s existing toxicity levels.

6.       Drinking helps you distress and sleep

HANGOVER MYTH

If you think you are drinking to get rid of stress or fall asleep easily you have thought wrong. If the amount of alcohol in your blood is high the brain won’t ever go into REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep, which is the actual relaxed state. Ultimately, you sleep all night and often all day to beat your headache without giving your mind and body the actual rest you really needed and wanted.

There are tons more hangover myths out there and many people use them on a weekly basis. The truth is if you just get some rest, drink some Gatorade, eat some healthy food, and relax you are going to be fine. Don’t listen to the hype of the hangover myths, usually they are just quick, very unhealthy, thoughtless ways to put off a hangover or make it worse.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.