Many of us pay with headaches, nausea and fatigue the day after an evening of socializing and booze on the table. But the degree of hangover can vary a lot from person to person.
For a while’ some never come backothers are so tormented that on a “bakis scale” of one to ten they rank at the top.
Large individual differences may depend partly on quantity and partly on what type of alcohol was consumed, but this is not the whole explanation. Studies point to four reasons hangovers affect different people.
1: Biological mechanisms
The degree of hangover need not be due to an inability to restrain oneself, say the researchers.
Research suggests that people who carry a variant of the gene ALDH2 they have a tendency to experience worse hangovers than those without the gene.
When we consume alcohol, the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase catalyzes the conversion of alcohol into the protein acetaldehyde, a protein that, among other things, promotes hangover symptoms.
However, researchers believe that a variant of the ALDH2 gene tends to limit the breakdown of the “hangover protein” acetaldehyde, which can lead to worse hangovers.
2: Age and gender
The date on your birth certificate and your gender play a role Dutch study also a role in how the hangover is experienced.
The results show that the hangover experience decreases with age and that there are differences between the sexes.
Especially between the ages of 18 and 25, men seem to suffer from slightly stronger hangovers than women. What is behind this difference is not yet clear.
3: Psychological factors
If you are stressed, depressed or have anxiety, you are more likely to experience difficult times hangover shows an Aussie-Dutch study.
The reason is, among other things, that people who suffer from one of these disorders have a greater tendency to see the world from a negative perspective.
If the problems are seasoned with a hangover, then increases the risk because these people will see the world even more negatively, which can lead them to feel worse than people with a brighter outlook on life.
4: Pain management
There’s no clear answer as to whether it’s hypochondriacs or “pain-deniers” who experience the worst hangovers.
For a while’ american study points out that people with a low pain threshold more often experience worse hangovers than those who are easier to manage physical pain, so it shows other studies the opposite.
Other studies show, conversely, that those who ignore their pain feel worse from a hangover than those who accept the discomfort.
How to avoid hangover?
Although several scientists completely agree on the causes of how a hangover occurs, there are many suggestions on how to cure it.
Headache tablets and lots of water have become the winning concept, but more research is needed before all parties can hope for a hangover-free world.
