Quiz: The Truth About Hangovers

If you have a hangover, it’s because you drank too much alcohol in a short time, and that hurts your body. A large amount of booze makes your liver work harder, drops your blood sugar, and can make you less able to fight off infections. Alcohol disrupts your sleep -- you wake up more often -- and lowers the overall quality of your rest.

The number of drinks it takes to cause a hangover depends on your age, gender, ethnicity, and size. For most men, 5 to 8 drinks will do it. For most women, 3 to 5. But the effects can vary widely among different people, so be aware of your own limits. How fast you drink also matters. It takes your liver about 1 hour to process 1 ounce of alcohol.

If you've ever felt thirsty after a few cocktails, you know that drinking alcohol dehydrates. Hangover symptoms like headache and just feeling bad result from this lack of water. Alcohol also makes you pee more, so you dry out. The more nonalcoholic fluids you drink, the better you'll feel. Sip water between cocktails to stay hydrated and slow down your drinking. In the morning, drink water or juice. Chicken soup or sports drinks may also help.

In general, pound for pound, women's bodies have less water to dilute alcohol, and more alcohol gets absorbed into the bloodstream. So a woman can drink less than a man and still get a man-sized hangover. And a woman who drinks heavily is likely to get alcohol-related organ damage sooner than a man would, even if she drinks less. So stick with one drink a day or less. And remember that SUV-sized cocktails don't count as one drink.

Dark liquors -- like whiskey, red wine, tequila, and brandy -- generally hit you faster and cause worse hangovers than white wine, beer, or clear liquors like vodka or gin. This may be because dark liquor contains more chemicals to flavor and color it. But that isn't a free ride to guzzle clear liquor. You can still get a hangover.

The kind of mixer you drink also affects how you will feel the next day. Some people think sugar makes a hangover worse. But sugar actually causes your body to absorb alcohol more slowly. So a liquid that has sugar makes a better mixer than diet drinks.

When it comes to hangovers, your body doesn't care whether you drink liquor or beer first. How much you drink and how fast are what counts. Whether it's a 12-ounce beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or a 1.5-ounce shot of liquor, you get about the same amount of alcohol. But people tend to drink mixed drinks and shots faster than beer. So if you switch from liquor to beer, you may be likely to drink less overall.

There's no evidence that eating anything after you tie one on is helpful. But if you eat before and while you drink, your body will absorb alcohol more slowly and take in less of it. When there’s food in your stomach, the alcohol can’t go directly into your small intestine, which is where it’s absorbed into your bloodstream. High-protein foods, like cheese, are best at slowing down the effects of alcohol and can help prevent a hangover. But drink on an empty stomach and you could black out.

Don’t take a pain reliever before bed. It taxes your liver, which is already hard at work processing what you drank. And it will wear off by morning, so it won't do much good when you really need it. Instead, take a pain reliever when you wake up, if you need it. Avoid acetaminophen, which can cause dangerous liver swelling and damage. Ibuprofen or aspirin are better choices because they don't harm your liver, although they may irritate your stomach and make you more likely to get ulcers. Drinking water before, during, and after you drink alcohol also helps.

A drink or two before bedtime may help you fall asleep faster. But as the alcohol level in your blood falls, you’re likely to wake often and have trouble getting back to sleep. This makes you feel worse the next day. If you have insomnia, don’t rely on a nightcap to fall asleep. That can make you more likely to become dependent on alcohol.

Coffee will dry out your body even more, but if you're used to a morning cup, you could have one to avoid a worse headache from caffeine withdrawal. Skip the morning mimosa though. It just postpones the worst hangover symptoms. Complex carbs -- like whole grain toast and crackers -- may counter low blood sugar and ease nausea.

Herbal remedies for hangovers abound. The scientific evidence to back them up doesn't. A 2004 study did show that taking prickly pear extract 5 hours before drinking alcohol can relieve nausea, dry mouth, and lack of appetite in some people. But experts say that not enough studies have been done to show for sure that any herbal remedies work.

Drinking too much alcohol is called intoxication for a reason. Alcohol is a toxic substance. Alcohol poisoning -- when you have too much alcohol in your blood -- can happen when you chug, funnel, do shots, or drink liquor-loaded cocktails. And that can cause permanent brain damage, stop your heart or breathing, or make you choke on your own vomit. Danger signs include:
 

• Vomiting
• Seizures
• Mental confusion
• Slow or irregular breathing
• Low body temperature, bluish skin, and paleness

If you pass out, you won't just "sleep off" these symptoms. You need emergency medical help.

Repeated heavy drinking can weaken your heart and cause strokes and liver scarring, known as cirrhosis. It also makes you more likely to get some cancers and create problems with memory, sleep, and mood. Some of these changes are reversible. If you are a heavy drinker, quit. It can lower your risk for cancer, correct some brain changes, and stop liver damage from getting worse.