Hangover Symptoms
A Brief List of Hangover Symptoms
More of us know about hangover symptoms than we'd care to admit. They are, for many, all too familiar. Here are some that you may have experienced.
Headaches are very common for hangover victims. Alcohol is a diuretic. The more alcohol you drink, the more water your body needs in order to dilute this toxin. Your body gets rid of the excess water through urination. If you aren't drinking water or juice while you're drinking alcohol, your body begins to deprive your organs from water. This includes your brain. The headaches you feel are from this loss of fluid levels in the brain.
Irritability and dizziness are two related hangover symptoms, because as the brain loses its fluid levels, these are two more results. You may also find it difficult to concentrate on what would normally be simple tasks, or more complex tasks that you could normally tackle without a problem. These are not surprising symptoms, because your brain had quite a work-out the previous night.
Nausea is one of the most common hangover symptoms. Vomiting will help your body get rid of the alcohol in your system, but it will also add to your dehydration. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids to rehydrate your body. Don't fight the urge to vomit. You'll feel better later if you do it now. Loss of appetite is closely tied to this symptom. You're not going to feel hungry while you're still losing what you ate last night.
As if it's not enough to kneel at the porcelain throne, you may need to sit there, too, if you experience another one of the common hangover symptoms, which is diarrhea. If you have this along with vomiting, it's like being between a rock and a hard place. And you need to rehydrate even more if you're having diarrhea.
Two more hangover symptoms are drowsiness and fatigue. If you go to sleep still holding a high amount of alcohol within your system, you won't be able to enter REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. So your brain – and your body – are denied their relaxation. You may sleep for many hours, but if you're still drunk when you're sleeping, you're not getting much-needed rest.
Not a symptom so much as a problem is dehydration. You have gotten rid of way too much body fluid through your night of drinking, and you need to rehydrate with water or sports drinks. You may also be feeling body aches, which could be due to the imbalance of fluids in your body now.
Hangovers can be said to be a tamer version of what drug addicts feel when they suffer withdrawal symptoms. Hangover symptoms may be nature's way to tell you to slow down – that you're harming your body.