How Long Does a Hangover Last? What to Expect

The more you drink, and if you drink on an empty stomach, the more severe the hangover might be and the longer it may last. On average, a healthy adult will process approximately one alcoholic drink per hour. Drinking more than this may cause your liver to struggle and may lead to a much-altered hangover experience. Hangover supportive therapy addresses common hangover symptoms caused by high blood alcohol concentration, often linked to alcohol abuse and an alcohol hangover. If you’ve ever dealt with a throbbing headache, a queasy stomach and general sense of regret after a night of drinking, you’re not alone.

Take pain relievers

• Although alcohol is known to induce sleep, it’s most likely to cause disrupted sleep.6 This makes you feel worse when you wake up, prolonging and worsening hangover symptoms.
• Rehydrating with fluids, most importantly water, and taking an over-the-counter pain medication like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) will help with your symptoms.
• We offer a free, no-obligation addiction assessment where you can discuss your worries in confidence and receive advice on next steps.

Chronic alcohol abuse increases the risk of high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and weakened heart muscle. If you’re struggling to control your drinking, don’t hesitate to reach out to Ardu for professional help and support in overcoming alcohol addiction. A hangover from alcohol, while unpleasant, is not ordinarily a medically dangerous condition.

Are Hangovers Dangerous or Just Painful?

However, everyone has a different alcohol tolerance level and susceptibility to the other factors that make up a hangover, so it’s not really possible to say for certain. The average hangover lasts for about 24 hours, according to research from Brown University. We’ve all woken up with a heavy head asking this question after one too many the night before. No two bodies are the same, and everyone tolerates alcohol differently depending on a variety of factors, such as age, size and life experience.

• There is no particular way to increase the speed at which a person detoxes from alcohol and recovers from a hangover.
• While it typically subsides as the hangover does, persistent or severe hangxiety might indicate an underlying anxiety disorder or problematic relationship with alcohol.
• How severe hangover symptoms are and how long a hangover lasts can depend on various factors, including your age, weight, and tolerance to alcohol.
• For example, someone who participated in a binge drinking session will have a longer lasting hangover than a person who had a few drinks over a number of hours.

The Amount of Alcohol Consumed

Much like everything to do with the body, everyone is different when it comes to how they respond to alcohol. We all know someone who can have drink after drink, only to wake up feeling fresh in the morning, and others who have stopped drinking entirely thanks to awful hangovers. There’s no set answer to how long hangovers last, but there are certainly some commonalities in what makes them so bad for some people. The best way to avoid a hangover is not to drink alcohol in the first place, even when it might seem like a good idea at the time.

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This how long does a hangover last is also true for the severity and length of the hangover, although many factors can change this. Since your liver can only process a certain amount of alcohol per hour, you will feel its effects if you consume more than your body can process in a certain period. The more quickly you drink, the higher your blood alcohol levels rise, which can be dangerous if you are consuming alcohol quickly in a short period or binge drinking.

If hangovers begin to interfere with daily life, or if there are signs of alcohol use disorder or alcohol poisoning, it’s essential to seek help. By understanding the body processes alcohol and the impact of drinking heavily, you can take steps to ensure that your consumption of alcoholic drinks doesn’t lead to dangerous consequences. The duration of a hangover varies, generally lasting from a few hours to up to 24 hours. Mild symptoms like headache and fatigue might improve with hydration, rest, and food within a few hours.

Without food in your stomach, most of the alcohol finds its way into your blood quickly. Some companies use misleading advertising alcoholism symptoms to claim that their products can prevent hangovers. But the only guaranteed way to prevent a hangover is to not drink alcohol.