A new study found that limiting the amount of alcoholic drinks is still the way to prevent hangovers, not by gulping on water or stuffing on food after alcohol consumption.
Getting a hangover is almost always subsequent to a good night out, party or chill time. When the alcohol has reached the head, that's when most people would consider the night "epic" or something close to that. However, while hangovers may signify fun times, it comes with a price - a series of unpleasant physical feelings, mental lapses and overall bad experience. This is why many people are interested about what can prevent hangovers, including a group of experts that researched on the sa`id topic.
The study, which was presented at the annual meeting of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology held in Amsterdam, delved into the details of drinking habits that may influence hangovers.
A team of researchers from the Canada and Netherlands surveyed 789 students in Canada regarding the details of their alcohol drinking during the previous month. The information asked include the number of drinks, the time period of intake and the extent of hangover. The researchers then measured the estimated Blood Alcohol Concentration of the participants who reported that they had a hangover and those who did not.
As per analysis, the scientists found that 79 percent of the study subjects who did not have hangovers exhibited blood alcohol levels of about 0.10 percent, which is twice the safe driving limit in many countries in Europe.
"In general, we found a pretty straight relationship; the more you drink, the more likely you are to get a hangover," says Dr Joris Verster, lead author from the Utrecht University.
Further into the study, the researchers also investigated whether eating or drinking water right after alcohol intake may decrease the risk of a hangover experience. For this endeavor, the scientists surveyed 826 Dutch students regarding their last alcohol drinking session, as well as whether they ate or drink water afterwards. The participants were also asked to rate their hangover experience from absent to extreme.
The results of the investigation found that 54.4 percent of the participants did consume food after drinking alcohol. However, the severity of the hangover did not exhibit significant differences between each other and did not present with a statistically vital finding.
Drinking too much alcohol has various damaging effects and for the 25-30 percent of drinkers, who claim that they do not experience hangovers, the tendency is for them to persist drinking. This type of study may then serve a purpose of providing evidenced-based information about the effects of excess alcohol drinking.
Photo: Kimery Davis | Flickr
