# What, exactly, causes hangovers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 2001, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729 "2001-10-16T14:51:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/1 "2001-10-16T14:51:59Z")
Inspired by this from **Trucido** : > [@](#): > > _from [Miller Beer and Formaldehyde](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=92821)_ > Formaldehyde is indeed poisonous, but you’re going to get a small amount, indirectly, with any drink. All alcoholic beverages contain small amounts of methanol in addition to ethanol. Wine contains the most, properly distilled spirits the least, with some vodkas containing none at all. In the breakdown of methanol, your body produces poisonous formaldehyde. This formaldehyde is, in small quantities, a major contributor to hangovers, and in larger quantities quite lethal. I searched through the archives but everything I found was about how to **cure** a hangover. I want to know exactly what causes them. Trucido posits that **formaldehyde** , created by the breakdown of methanol is a major contributor. I have also read/heard that **dehydration** and **changes in blood sugar levels** are major contributors. These may all be contributors, but which is the largest? Is there anything else missing? **Qadgop** mentioned in [another thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=92505) that ethanol causes several of the physiological effects which contribute to the sensation of hangover. Any others out there? I want the Straight Dope! ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/2 "2001-10-16T15:08:34Z")
The simple explanation is that alcohol causes dehydration and breaks down the sugars in your body, either one of which will give you a headache in its own right. A good hangover aid will replace both water and sugar. Plus some grease to make the stomach stop moving 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/3 "2001-10-16T15:14:27Z")
Hi **chique** , I was certain you were going to mention the tannins in **red wine**. Can you experiment with this on your trip to Spain? Or just bring me back a nice bottle of red? ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/4 "2001-10-16T15:35:10Z")
And I always thought it was from those drinks that mix liquor with sweet liquids. Now you say sweets help rather than hurt the situation. Would the idea of drinking coffee come from the fact that you are drinking a water based liquid with sugar in it? ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/5 "2001-10-16T15:46:02Z")
Ah, but you’re asking about hangovers, Shib, not allergies 😉 And if I can cram a bottle of red in my suitcase without losing space for my Diamante…sure 🙂 kniz, like I said, IANAD. This info came to me from too many Navy drug and alcohol lectures and several years of perfecting my own hangover cure [sub](orange Gatorade and a king-sized Snickers bar - orange Gatorade cos I can’t drink water first thing on the best of mornings, and Snickers cos…well, they’re Snickers, you know?)[/sub] Also coming from a family that has lots of diabetics I’m somewhat aware of how food and drink affects blood sugar. As for sugary drinks? How 'bout a SWAG that you’re urinating too much to keep the sugar in you long enough for it to do any good, and the sugar has you drinking more cos the drink just tastes so good? And coffee’s a diuretic - not so sure that’s a good idea, although it does clear one’s head, no? 🙂 :: Waits patiently for someone to tear her argument apart :: ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/6 "2001-10-16T15:49:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kniz \* > \*\* Would the idea of drinking coffee come from the fact that you are drinking a water based liquid with sugar in it? \*\* Coffee is used for the caffeine, the pick me up is ‘supposed’ to help a drunk get their legs back. In effect, all you get is a wired drunk. Anyway, what kind of maniac puts sugar in their coffee? ---
**Author:** ![Robb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Robb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robb)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/7 "2001-10-16T16:50:36Z")
Good question. I think part of the answer is similar to **Trucido’s** suggestion. Alcohol is broken down into an aldehyde as part of its elimination from the body. From this [site](http://fpb.cwru.edu/courses/NURS123etoh/body.html): > [@](#): > > Alcohol is converted to acetaldehyde in the liver. Acetaldehyde is highly toxic to the liver and other organs. [then](http://fpb.cwru.edu/courses/NURS123etoh/hangovers.htm) > [@](#): > > Dehydration causes hangovers. When the alcohol in the blood reaches the pituitary gland in the brain it blocks the brain’s normal response to retain water from the kidneys. With this response blocked, the body loses far more water than was taken in with the alcohol. The body’s reaction to the loss of fluids is to take water from other organs, such as the brain. The brain then shrinks. Due to the brain shrinking, the dura (pain-sensitive fibers that cover the brain) is also deformed – this may cause hangovers. Though, here is a [site](http://www.pharmcentral.com/sedatives.htm) which suggests the aldehyde is the hangover culprit. > [@](#): > > Interestingly, several compounds have the ability to inhibit alcohol dehydrogenase. These drugs would prolong the duration of the pleasant alcohol intoxication without intensifying the unpleasant presence of acetaldehyde, which is responsible for the hangover and toxicity. Two such compounds are pyrazole and methylpyrazole. And back to [decrease of water and sugar](http://www.telmedpak.com/doctorss.asp?a=Poisons&b=alcohol): > [@](#): > > Alcohol robs brain cells of water and glucose, the brain’s food, contributing to a hangover the next day. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/8 "2001-10-17T00:26:24Z")
Drink some more alcohol, that gets into your cells quickly & is excellent cure. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/9 "2001-10-17T00:29:44Z")
Nuts, i thought we were talking about curing them. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/10 "2001-10-17T03:11:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*Nuts, i thought we were talking about curing them. \*\* I _know_ how to fix them: Never sober up!\* [sub]\*Everything I ever needed to know I learned from the Wizard of Id.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Neurodoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@Neurodoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurodoc)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/11 "2001-10-17T04:12:31Z")
I think it really depends on the species of the dog that bit you. I have migraine, and get terrible hangovers from drinking most adult beverages. The worst, unfortunately, is Scotch whiskey…because I really enjoy the taste of a fine malt. I can drink a “triple distilled” Vodka, such as Skye’s, without much hangover, but I don’t tend to do so, since what I like in a drink is the taste, and Vodka is, to me, tasteless. It may get you “drunk,” but I don’t find stupifaction per se to be enjoyable. Ethanol is intoxicating. It has several physiologic effects, besides intoxication. It inhibits Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH), which causes you to pee a lot. This can lead to dehydration. A remedy for this is to drink plenty of H20. I suspect that there is a lot of “crap” in various alcoholic beverages. These include higher alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones, some of which undoubtedly will make you feel sick. Some of them probably make my beloved Scots whiskey taste great but prohibit me from indulging too much in it… And there are some beverages that can be outright toxic. “Grappa,” made from grapevine stems (wood) is a classic example. More than a few afficionados in Italy, France, and Spain have gone blind or worse from ingesting the methanol of sloppily prepared brews. “Absinthe” is another example. I understand that there is a product currently marketed as “Absinthe” that is free of this problem. Real absinthe has been illegal for some time. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/12 "2001-10-17T04:52:15Z")
neurodoc mentioned [congeners](http://www.cocktails.about.com/library/blcongeners.htm) I always thought they were _the_ #1 reason for hangovers. also _thought_ that wine had the most,and vodka had the least. ---
**Author:** ![Trucido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Trucido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trucido)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/13 "2001-10-17T05:15:52Z")
**Shibboleth** , I got that bit from an article on a drug used to treat methanol poisoning. In addition to the testing for medical use, an additional unscientific test was conducted. The general consensus was that using the methanol-blocking drug noticeably reduced the severity of a hangover. Note, though, that ‘unscientific’ bit. I’ve been unable to convince any significant sample of people to imbibe methanol or formaldehyde so the theory can be tested. There’s also no good way to measure the severity of a hangover. I’ve got to look this drug up again. Could be a blockbuster seller. ---
**Author:** ![Trucido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Trucido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trucido)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/14 "2001-10-17T05:23:34Z")
Can’t find the exact article, but I found some things in that general direction. Check [here](http://www.pharmcentral.com/sedatives.htm#6-alcohol) and search the page for ‘pyrazole.’ Doesn’t support the methanol hypothesis at all, but it might help answer your question, and suggest a decently scientific experiment. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-causes-hangovers/87729/15 "2001-10-17T09:36:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kniz \* > **And I always thought it was from those drinks that mix liquor with sweet liquids. Now you say sweets help rather than hurt the situation.** I think sweet liquor is bad because the sugar masks the taste of alcohol. You end up with a stronger drink, or end up drinking more of it.