Hangovers – causes, symptoms and prevention

A pounding headache. Feeling sick, tired, dizzy, irritable or dehydrated.

If you’ve ever had a hangover, you will know some of the unpleasant effects that can linger on for a day or more after a heavy drinking session.

Hangovers affect everyone differently, but there are things you can do to avoid getting one in the first place.

Read on for our guide on the causes and symptoms of hangovers, the myths to be aware of, and the essential “dos and don’ts” that could prevent a hangover from ruining your day.

Reduced workplace productivity and absenteeism caused by hangovers are estimated to cost the UK economy £4 billion every year.¹ 

Hangover symptoms

A hangover is the collection of physical and mental symptoms you can feel after drinking. The symptoms can occur both while your body is processing the level of alcohol in your system back to zero, and for some time afterwards - around 24 hours or even longer in some cases.²

• Typically, most people feel hungover when they wake up the day after drinking alcohol, but you could get these symptoms before going to bed too, as the alcohol wears off.
• The most common hangover symptoms are tiredness, headache, nausea and problems with memory and concentration.³ You might also have a headache or an upset stomach (including feeling sick, or being sick), or feel irritable, dizzy, sensitive to light, sweaty or anxious.⁴
• The more alcohol you drink, the more likely you are to get severe hangover symptoms - particularly if you have a lot more than you typically drink in a single session.⁵
• Sticking to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines - no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days, with several drink-free days and no bingeing - could help you avoid a hangover. It will also lower your longer-term risks of several cancers, liver and heart disease and help maintain healthy blood pressure.

Some people experience psychological symptoms such as feeling anxious after drinking, as the depressant ‘calming’ effect of alcohol wears off. These feelings of ‘hangxiety’ can affect anyone, but might be worse if you are already socially anxious.⁶
Do you get ‘hangxiety’?

Altogether, hangover symptoms aren’t a good combination if you’re planning to make the most of the day and not spend it in bed. You might find a hangover can affect your relationships too – whether it’s lacking motivation to spend time with the kids, or saying something you shouldn’t to your partner or a friend.

The symptoms can even be dangerous – alcohol is linked to accidents, and you shouldn’t attempt to drive if you still have alcohol in your system, or have any hangover symptoms.⁷

Tips to drink less

Can you have a ‘permanent’ hangover?

A hangover is what you might experience as the alcohol wears off after a single session of drinking. Symptoms tend to peak around the time your body has reduced the amount of alcohol in your system to zero, and can last for up to 24 hours afterwards.

If you find you have symptoms that are longer-lasting, or permanent, it’s possible that you are drinking at a high-risk level that could mean you are dependent on alcohol and experiencing withdrawal symptoms.⁸

If you think you may have become dependent on alcohol, you should consult your doctor or another health professional before stopping drinking completely. Read our guide on what to do before stopping drinking, and how to get help and support if you need it.

Drinking Check

Almost half (47%) of UK employees suspected a colleague was hungover at work during 2021.⁹ 

How to prevent a hangover

1. No alcohol = no hangover

   If you really want to avoid a hangover, the best way is not to drink! If you do decide to drink, the amount that gives you a hangover varies from person to person – but you are more likely to get one if you drink more than you usually would.¹⁹ Drinking less will lower your risk of a hangover.

   How much is a unit of alcohol?

2. Never binge

   ‘Binge drinking’ - drinking heavily in a single session – is very likely to give you a hangover,²⁰ as well as putting you at greater risk of accidents, and other serious long-term health problems. Binge drinking is technically defined as more than 8 units of alcohol in a single session for men, or more than 6 units for women.²¹

   Regularly drinking at this level could mean you are drinking well in excess of the UK low risk drinking guidelines. As well as not binge drinking, it’s safest for both men and women to drink no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days with several drink-free days.

   Units can add up more quickly than you might realise – for example, just one large glass of wine (250ml) typically contains more than three units of alcohol.

   Find out more about binge drinking

3. Pace yourself, and stay hydrated

   Try not to get into rounds - they make it harder to control how much alcohol you have. And if you stop drinking well before the end of the evening, you’ll give your body a head start on processing the alcohol before bed – giving you a better chance of a good night’s sleep.

   Also, drinking plenty of water or soft drinks in between alcoholic drinks, will help you to avoid dehydration, one of the main causes of hangover symptoms.²² Drink plenty of water before going to sleep and keep a glass by the bed.

   How to deal with peer pressure

4. Try switching to alcohol-free or low alcohol options

   More and more people are cutting their drinking by switching to alcohol-free and low alcohol drinks.²³

   Swapping a standard  alcoholic drink for a low alcohol or alcohol-free one will mean you consume fewer units of alcohol, and so are much less likely to wake up with a hangover. It can be a sustainable way of cutting your drinking in the longer-term too.²⁴

   Just be aware – both low alcohol and alcohol-free drinks can contain alcohol (up to 1.2% alcohol by volume (ABV) for low alcohol, or 0.5% ABV for alcohol-free), so they aren’t suitable if you need to avoid alcohol completely.

   Cutting your drinking with alcohol-free

How to recover from a hangover