What are the causes of hangovers?

Hangovers are a combination of factors which contribute to you feeling unwell, unpleasant and maybe sick the day after relatively heavy alcohol consumption.

What's the cause of this evil condition?

The first thing to understand is that the aftershock of drinking too much has as multiple causes, as it does symptoms.

Typically, you'll have a pounding hangover headache, feel nauseous, your stomach may hurt, you may have diarrhoea and be vomiting.

Also, your mouth feels dry and dirty and you’re severely dehydrated. You feel terrible and incapable of doing anything.

But being hungover is not caused by a one thing, but by many all together.

That's why there's no hangover cure that's 100% effective for every level of hangover.

What are symptoms of a hangover?

Find out how to cure a hangover. These remedies really do work.

Put simply, the causes of hangovers and the reason you feel awful are the following:

1. Metabolites & Toxins

Your body breaks down alcohol into acetaldehyde, which is a toxin and the main reason your body feels bad all over and why you're nauseous.

2. Dehydration

Alcohol's a diuretic and so, you end up dehydrated. This intensifies any headache you have.

3. Depletion of vitamins and minerals

You lose a lot of the vitamins and minerals in your body when drinking alcohol. This can result in you feeling pretty weak and can also intensify a bad head.

4. Congeners and mixing drinks

Congeners are impurities in alcohol that cause headaches. Mixing them with any other drinks is a recipe for disaster.

I explain these in far better detail in this explanation about the causes of hangovers.

See how to avoid getting hungover

More causes of hangovers

5. Low blood sugar level (hypoglycemia)

When you feel weak and lethargic whilst hungover, this is a result of alcohol causing you to having a low blood sugar level.

6. Poor sleep quality

Despite you passing out when drunk, the sleep quality is poor. You don't reach a real level of deep sleep when drunk. So you feel tired when you awake. This just intensifies your bad hangover.

What is hypoglycemia? Fix your low blood sugar by following these tips

Read more about these hangover causes.

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What is a congener? Is that why I have a headache?

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