Catching up on the baseball action with a few buddies feels incomplete without a crate of beer. Pub crawls have become an essential part of the workaholic’s weekend unwinding routine. Alcohol has almost become an integral part of modern-day lifestyle across various demographics of the population. Some people are unable to restrain themselves to a few drinks and end up with a hangover the next day. But unknown to many, it is not only the alcoholics who are at risk; even one hangover can ravage your health in more ways than one.
[style=font-weight:bold;]Major Effects
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A single hangover can affect almost all the major organs of the body including the brain, the heart, the liver, and the pancreas. Alcohol disrupts the brain’s ability to transmit signals between the different cells of the body and this in turn, adversely affects your motor coordination, cognitive functioning, mood, and sleep patterns. Ever remember how you had difficulty standing straight or focusing on what others in the group were saying after you had one drink too many? That was the alcohol in your system.
A single hangover is enough to wreak havoc with the way your heart functions. Too much alcohol in your body causes your heart to beat irregularly or become too fast. This in turn, prevents blood from circulating effectively throughout your entire body leading to a host of other health complications like a spurt in the blood pressure level. Multiple research studies have proven that a single hangover can lead to a fatal stroke by impairing the flow of blood to the brain even in individuals who have no history of cardiac ailments. Dehydration is also common since alcohol is well known for making the body lose water.
It takes just one bout of heavy drinking to throw the liver and the pancreas off balance and jeopardize the metabolic function of your body. This increases the risks of you contracting debilitating and potentially fatal diseases such as alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
[style=font-weight:bold;]Know When to Stop
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The effects of even a single hangover are ominous indeed. So, by all means raise a toast and revel in the champagne moments of life but stop short of indulging and ending up with a hangover. Pace yourself and hydrate with water. Remind yourself the price you have to pay the day after (sometimes longer than one day) to recover and get back to your exercise program. As everything in life, moderation is key.
References:
1- N Engl J Med 1976; 295:793-797. October 7, 1976
2- Alcohol and Alcoholism. Volume 43, Issue 2. Pp. 124-126
