Debilitating nausea, fatigue, pounding headaches are symptoms you must have experienced if you have ever suffered from a hangover. From minor to extreme, a bad hangover can make you question your choice of those cocktails and even make you swear off of them until you lose control the next time.

It does not matter whether you woke up surrounded by bottles or you had a few cocktails with your best friends; the best way to beat a hangover is by properly hydrating your body.

Understanding What Is A Hangover

Most people will tell you that hangovers are a symptom that occurs when you drink too much. However, what happens to the body during a hangover? A hangover results from multiple reactions that occur in the body when alcohol is consumed in high amounts. Some of those symptoms are:

Production Of Acetaldehyde

Acetaldehyde is a colorless, naturally occurring liquid produced by vegetables, gasoline, diesel exhaust, cigarette smoke, and alcohol metabolism. Acetaldehyde is the most common cause behind the clinical effects of a hangover. On the minus side, it may cause drowsiness, vomiting, headache, and nausea, while under severe conditions, it can cause cirrhosis and alcoholism.

Congeners

Congeners are the result of the distillation or fermentation stages that are involved in the production of alcohol. During the production stages, the manufacturers convert the sugars into alcohol by using different strains of yeast. These yeast strains are responsible for converting amino acids into ethanol or ethyl alcohol. Some examples of congeners include aldehydes, esters, alcohols, ketones, and acids. The reason people prefer top-quality alcohol is that they contain fewer congeners. Congeners are known to be one of the factors behind hangovers. The more the alcohol undergoes distillation, the less the quantity of the congeners case. Thus, the best quality liquors cause less hangover because they contain less quantity of congeners.

Reduction In Vasopressin

One effect that alcohol has on the brain is reducing vasopressin production. The vasopressin hormone is responsible for retaining water. Reduction in vasopressin causes the body to release fluids. Thus, the more you drink, the more you undergo dehydration. Thus, the best form of a hangover cure is to rehydrate your body.

Sugar Overload

This is most often not observed in the case of all drinks, but if you drink sugar-laden cocktails, you can severely impact your hangover. Sugary drinks tend to spike blood sugar levels. Therefore, you wake up experiencing low blood sugar.

Preventing Hangover

One of the best ways to prevent a hangover is to drink within limits. However, sometimes despite our best efforts, we may land drinking more than we should have. Under such circumstances, it is very helpful to have some hangover cures like rehydration sachets on hand. Rehydration sachets contain all necessary electrolytes. Thus, if you’re suffering from a hangover, empty a rehydration sachet into a glass of water and drink it to bring your electrolyte levels back up. The sooner the electrolyte and hydration levels return to normal, the better you start to feel.