When you drink, alcohol holds back a brain chemical called glutamate. When the alcohol wears off, you have a bunch of it floating around in your brain. It may be to blame for hangover symptoms like crankiness, headaches, nausea, and fatigue.

How much you had to drink

As we get older, our body’s ability to process toxins slows down. As a result, you might be down for the count on less alcohol (and for longer) than before. The more dehydrated you are, the worse you’ll feel, and longer. Studies show that if you smoke cigarettes while you drink, you may get a worse hangover.

What Causes Hangovers?

• Certain medications may help ease symptoms, particularly headaches.
• It begins as a person’s blood alcohol levels decrease after they stop drinking, and it can last for 24 hours or more.
• This substance can cause a fast pulse, sweating and nausea.
• The gorgeous red fruit found on the nopal cactus might have potential hangover-relief powers.
• The catch is that you need to drink it before you have alcohol.
• Here’s what we do know about alcohol’s effects on the body and how it may bring on a hangover.

And depending on various factors, some symptoms can be worse than others in terms of severity and duration. A big glass of water might be the easiest hangover solution. Alcohol dehydrates you by boosting the amount of urine your kidneys make. You also lose fluid when you sweat, vomit, or have diarrhea after a night of bingeing. And alcohol is a diuretic, which means it makes you pee a lot and lose a lot of liquid. Dehydration causes symptoms like a dry mouth and headache.

Take a pain reliever

While there is no cure for a hangover other than time, it may be possible to reduce the severity of some symptoms. Early research shows that probiotics may help in some way, and private companies hope to make products — that you’d take after drinking or before — to ease symptoms. Scientists are also looking at why some people seem to have natural resistance to hangovers and what they can learn from them. Darker liquors, such as bourbon, have substances called congeners. And sulfites, used as a preservative in some wines, can trigger headaches in some people. If you haven’t eaten, you’re a lot more likely to have stomach pain and vomiting after drinking.

• Being (and staying) hydrated as you drink is your best bet to preventing dehydration.
• This article looks at 6 easy, evidence-based ways to prevent or relieve a hangover.
• Extract of the fruit from Hovenia dulcis, a tree native to East Asia, also showed promise in a small study.
• The study also suggested that heart rate increases as you drink more alcohol, and these increases can raise your risk of arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat.

Alcohol poisoning is a serious result of drinking too much too quickly. It is life threatening and requires immediate medical intervention. If you’re not feeling any better after 24 hours, it’s best to check in with your healthcare provider. Always check with how long do hangovers last your healthcare provider or pharmacist before drinking if you take any medications. Fortunately, hangovers typically go away within 24 hours. There are some reports online of them lasting for up to 3 days, but we can’t find much evidence to back this up.

• Early research shows that probiotics may help in some way, and private companies hope to make products — that you’d take after drinking or before — to ease symptoms.
• Although dehydration is not the only cause of a hangover, it contributes to many common hangover symptoms, including increased thirst, fatigue, headache, and dizziness (7).
• But for most people, the greater the amount of alcohol consumed and the longer the duration of alcohol consumption, the more severe the hangover symptoms.
• Not drinking alcohol is the only surefire way to prevent a monster hangover in the future.
• This is usually the result of very heavy alcohol intake or metabolic issues (such as liver or kidney failure).