Everyone knows that a lot of alcohol is bad for you. In any case, you feel that if you have had a few too many glasses yourself. Where does this bad feeling come from? “A hangover consists of a number of parts,” says prevention expert Tom Bart van Jellinek, an institution for addiction care. The best-known problem is a lack of fluids: “Per glass of alcohol you pee out about one and a half glass of fluid. If you keep that up for an evening, without drinking water in between, you will become somewhat dehydrated and you will get complaints such as headaches.”
In addition, alcohol is broken down by your liver into various breakdown substances. One of those decomposers is the toxic acetaldehyde. Over time, as your body has converted the alcohol, the concentration of acetaldehyde in your body increases. As a result, you may feel feverish, tired and nauseous. “What also doesn’t help is that alcohol disrupts your sleep rhythm. You may fall asleep faster after a nightcap, but you sleep less deeply and wake up more often, so you wake up tired the next day,” Bart explains.
Age matters
For someone with a high fat percentage, alcohol – and the hangover – hits harder.
How quickly you suffer from a hangover differs per person. Bart: “One simply breaks down alcohol and acetaldehyde faster than the other.” Your age can certainly make a difference. Bart: “In general, the speed of your metabolism gradually decreases over the years. As a result, your liver takes longer to break down alcohol, acetaldehyde and other toxins in middle age than in college.” The consequence? You suffer from hangovers faster and longer.
The fact that your metabolism slows down also ensures that your muscle mass is increasingly replaced by fat. This is not useful if you feel like drinking heavily during an evening, because muscle contains more water than fat. “Alcohol spreads through the fluid in your body. The more fluid you have, the more the alcohol is diluted,” says Bart. For someone with a high percentage of fat (and therefore relatively little fluid), alcohol hits you harder. And that hangover too.
Furthermore, your lifestyle changes over the years. “Many people are taking on more and more responsibilities, go out less often and are no longer used to drinking a lot,” says Bart. Your alcohol tolerance then deteriorates, so that you suffer more from the adverse effects of alcohol. Bart: “In addition, a hangover is psychologically more difficult if you have to do something important, such as performing at work or taking care of your children. There is often no time to sit out a hangover on the couch all day. That makes them a lot more annoying.”
Because of alcohol, your brain transmits stimuli less well.
What exactly happens in your brain when you are drunk?
Alcohol spreads very efficiently through your body. About ten minutes after drinking a beer it has already reached your brain. You can already notice the effects of alcohol after one or two glasses. You will initially feel a bit looser and less inhibited. How did that happen?
Alcohol affects all brain functions, explains the Trimbos Institute. In particular, the signal substances glutamate and GABA play a role in this. These neurotransmitters have the opposite effect. For example, glutamate stimulates the activity of nerve cells, while GABA inhibits them. Alcohol inhibits the action of glutamate and enhances the action of GABA. Due to this combination, fewer stimuli are passed on in the central nervous system. Hence, alcohol has an anesthetic effect. And the more you drink, the less well your brain can function. You notice this, among other things, in your motor skills, sensory perceptions and memory functions, which deteriorate. You can also suffer from mood problems. Ultimately, alcohol also has an effect on vital brain functions, such as breathing and heart rate. Hence, alcohol in large quantities can be deadly.
Prevention is better than cure
Suppose you have a severe hangover. How do you get rid of that as quickly as possible? “You can’t really do more than good food and drink. You will have to wait until your body has broken down the alcohol and acetaldehyde and you cannot speed up that process,” Bart explains.
Therefore, the best way to avoid a hangover is to drink less. That is also a lot better for your health in the long term. Alcohol increases the risk of certain types of cancer, cardiovascular disease and dementia. Bart: “Look, a drink every now and then is fine. The trick is to drink a lot of water in between to maintain your fluid balance. You are therefore full sooner, which means you automatically drink less alcohol and get fewer severe hangovers.”