New Years Day Hangovers

It is the day after New Years and chances are that a lot of people are not feeling that great after a big night of partying. If you drank last night you knew the hangover was coming yet we all tend to forget just how bad too much alcohol can make you feel.  But why does alcohol make you feel so terrible?

Alcohol affects your body in numerous ways, all of which add up to multiple torturous effects the next day. The more you drink, the worse the hangover. Basically the more alcohol that you bombard your body with the less time it has to keep up with flushing it out and detoxing your system. Even though it may seem as though you are hydrating yourself with drink after drink, the opposite is true when it comes to alcohol-it actually causes you to be dehydrated. Dehydration causes thirst, headaches and even dizziness the day after you have been drinking. Alcohol is a diuretic and causes your kidneys to create more urine by suppressing your body&undefined;s levels of the anti-diuretic hormone vasopressin. Alcohol also irritates your stomach lining and causes the production of gastric acid and other digestive fluids which can cause your stomach to be so upset that you actually throw up. As if these affects were not great enough alcohol actually interferes with the body&undefined;s natural production of glucose. Drinking also causes your liver to  accumulate fat compounds known as triglycerides and adds lactic acid to your body fluids. Lower levels of glucose are what make you feel tired the next day. You also feel tired the day after drinking because alcohol disrupts your natural sleeping patterns. When sleeping someone that has alcohol in their system spends less time in restful REM sleep which will cause you to not feel rested when you wake up.

Unfortunately there is no real cure for a hangover, although there are hangover supplements you can take that will help. The best cure is avoiding alcohol all together. If you do have a hangover, you need lots of rest and lots of fluids. Your body is extremely dehydrated and glucose levels are down so it is a good idea to drink gatorade or some other sports drink which will help restore the electrolytes in your body. Tea that helps you sleep is also good to drink as it will hydrate your body and help you get the rest that you need.