We All Have That One Friend Who Doesn’t Get A Hangover. Here’s The Science Behind It.

We all have that one friend who we call a “tanker” because he/she is adept at drinking a lot of alcohol without getting slobbered. Surprisingly they even get up the next morning like they had the best sleep of their lives, looking alert and feeling fresh.

In short – they don’t even feel hungover. And that’s not fair! Why should they feel perfectly fine when you feel like shit after both of you had the same amount of alcohol?

Turns out, scientists have also been puzzled by this phenomenon and put in some time to actually do some research on it.

The real reason you get hungover is not really scientifically known, but there are some chemicals that contribute to it

Fun fact – Scientists still do not know the definite reason behind a hangover. But they have clues as to why we go through hell after a fun night of drinking.

The major cause is due to the process by which alcohol is made – fermentation. Fermentation also makes by-products called congeners. Congeners are toxic to the human body and are one of the main reasons behind a bad hangover.

Fact Source

 

These hangover-causing congeners literally cause inflammation in your body tissues

Congeners also darken your alcohol. This means whiskey and rum have more of these toxic chemicals while vodka has almost none of it. This is the reason why people who have drunk vodka don’t really feel hung over the next day.

But these chemicals also cause swelling of your tissues, because your immune system is trying to get it out.

Fact Source

 

The inflammation of the tissues give you the classic symptoms of a classic hangover – headache, sweating, peeing, etc.

When you drink alcohol, your body breaks this alcohol down to acetaldehyde and acetate. These chemicals mixed with congeners wreck havoc in your body, where the body desperately tries to push it outside leading to peeing, puking, sweating and headaches.

Fact Source

 

But did you know that there are about 23% of people who don’t get hungover at all

Like your “tanker” friend, there are people who do not get hungover at all. A research study showed that a whopping
23% of people may belong to this group.

Yes, one-fourth of all people who drink may be one of these superhuman alcohol bingers. But how are they still ok the next morning even after heavy drinking?

Fact Source

 

One of the reasons these superhumans do not get hungover is genes

A significant contributor is genes. Scientists have identified specific genes that help in metabolizing alcohol efficiently and quickly. Scientists also found that these genes also run in families. This means if your father was an efficient drinker, there is a good chance you are too.

Fact Source

 

And also your personality traits

The real surprise in the study is that even your personality determines whether you can get hungover or not. If you worry too much, are sad a lot of times, and feel guilty after drinking, chances are that you will get a worse hangover.

The possible reason behind this, psychologists say, is that emotions amplify the symptoms of hangovers.

Fact Source

 

Alcohol is also terribly sexist. Why? Read on…

Women are more prone to hangovers than men. I am just going to leave this here.

Fact Source

 

It also depends on your age. The older you are, the more likelihood of getting up fresh after a night of drinking

One study showed that younger people get worse symptoms of hangovers than old people. Scientists say that this may be because older people are more experienced at holding their liquor and also know when to stop, while the younger generation is brash and very liberal with the amount they drink.

Fact Source

 

And please monitor the pace at which you drink. Do not gulp the whole thing down quickly. Easy drinking does the trick.

While most of the hangover-resistant people are genetically blessed, some are just very smart. They are the kind of people who drink aaram se. 

They take their time and truly relax, drinking small quantities over a long time. In short they pace themselves very well. This means that their body is successful in metabolizing the alcohol quickly and the result is that they never get overly drunk.

 

The bad news is there is no science-backed cure for hangover yet, so, be smart and drink wisely.

There are thousands of homemade recipes out there in the world and on the internet that claim to relieve you of hangovers, but science says that they haven’t found an effective cure yet. None of them actually work. Most of them seem effective because they are better at dulling our senses so that we don’t feel the hangover for some time.
Fact Source

In the end, just to summarize how you can avoid hangovers if you are not one of these superhumans –

1. Drink moderately
2. Pace yourselves
3. Literally relax, don’t stress.
4. And don’t get overly emotional before and after drinking.

Have a great time. Cheers! ? 

Cover Image Source