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Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on January 8, 2008
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2008 43(2):124-126; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agm163
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Copyright © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Medical Council on Alcohol.

Review

The alcohol hangover–a puzzling phenomenon

Joris C. Verster*

University of Utrecht, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Psychopharmacology, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: University of Utrecht, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Psychopharmacology, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands. Tel: (+31) 30 253 6909, Fax: (+31) 30 253 7900; E-mail: j.c.verster@uu.nl

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The alcohol hangover develops when blood alcohol concentration (BAC) returns to zero and is characterized by a feeling of general misery that may last more than 24 h. It comprises a variety of symptoms including drowsiness, concentration problems, dry mouth, dizziness, gastro-intestinal complaints, sweating, nausea, hyper-excitability, and anxiety. The alcohol hangover is an intriguing issue since it is unknown why these symptoms are present after alcohol and its metabolites are eliminated from the body.

Although numerous scientific papers cover the acute effects of alcohol consumption, researchers largely neglected the issue of alcohol hangover. This lack of scientific interest is remarkable, since almost everybody is familiar with the unpleasant hangover effects that may arise the day after an evening of excessive drinking, and with the ways these symptoms may affect performance of planned activities.

Many people favour the (unproven) popular belief that dehydration is the main cause of alcohol hangover symptoms. . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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