In later sections of this article, we’ll look at why certain specific alcohols are more prone to cause post-drinking headaches. A cocktail headache typically occurs on both sides of the head and has a pulsating or throbbing quality. A 2017 study found that people of East Asian ancestry tend to drink less than members of other ethnic groups, and this may be influenced by genetic factors. Additionally, individuals from different ethnic backgrounds may have variable sensitivity to alcohol due to genetic differences. The effects of ethanol intoxication on the brain are quite pleasurable at first, leading to feelings of relaxation and happiness. However, as more ethanol is consumed, negative effects such as blurred vision, slowed reaction times, impaired perceptions, and loss of inhibitions occur.

Alternate Alcohol With Food and Water

• While numerous chemicals-related factors can trigger a headache after drinking alcohol, stress can also be a possible cause.
• Some medical professionals believe it is a chemical sensitivity to the compounds in alcohol that trigger cluster headaches.
• Avoiding alcohol isn’t the only way to avoid an alcohol-related migraine headache.

Roughly 3 in 10 migraine sufferers report that alcohol is a trigger at least some of the time. It’s also worth noting that alcohol-induced anxiety, or ‘hangxiety’, can worsen and even cause headaches in some cases. Because alcohol is a depressant, it suppresses our nervous system. Once the initial effects of alcohol wear off, our nervous system becomes overexcited, leading to anxiety. Because anxiety can trigger or worsen headaches, these two hangover symptoms are often related. Ethanol is also a diuretic, meaning it increases urination, which then leads to electrolyte loss and dehydration.

• Dr. Michael Yang is a board-certified neurologist and headache specialist at the Gundersen Health System in Wisconsin.
• This dilutes the effect of alcohol in your system and reduces the chance of alcohol triggering a headache or migraine attack,” he says.
• Ethanol is the primary toxin responsible for why alcohol makes you drunk.
• Start with eating healthy foods and drinking plenty of water before, during, and after drinking.

Alcohol and Headaches: Why They Happen and What You Can Do

At higher concentrations, ethanol can cause hiccups, vertigo, confusion, lethargy, memory loss, vomiting, stupor, coma, slowed breathing, and even death. Drinking alcohol can also cause dehydration by affecting the kidneys, which regulate fluid levels in the body. Alcohol causes the kidneys to excrete more fluid, leading to excessive urination and further contributing to dehydration. This dehydration can cause a headache even after a small amount of alcohol.

Migraine and Head Pain After Drinking? How to Avoid Aggravating Alcohol Headaches

• This makes you lose fluids and electrolytes at a faster rate, so you’ll get dehydrated much more quickly.
• Additionally, NSAIDs like Aleve and Ibuprofen often cause stomach irritation, and because alcohol already inflames the lining of the stomach, special care must be taken when mixing the two.
• According to the National Headache Foundation, a person can also consume oral rehydration solutions to help manage dehydration.
• Most of us can break down about one drink’s worth of alcohol each hour.
• Substances such as sulfites, histamine, and tyramines are found in alcohol and may contribute to headaches as well.

This makes you lose fluids and electrolytes at a faster rate, so headache after drinking beer you’ll get dehydrated much more quickly. And if you end up vomiting from having too much alcohol, you’ll lose even more fluids. Your liver is already working overtime to get excess alcohol out of your body.

Types of Alcohol-Related Headaches

He echoed the fluids advice in an interview with Migraine Again. “I tell my patients to alternate alcohol with food and water. This dilutes the effect of alcohol in your system and Alcoholics Anonymous reduces the chance of alcohol triggering a headache or migraine attack,” he says. Many of these disturbances of the body’s natural physiology persist the next day, long after the alcohol is gone. Effects on hormones, blood chemistry, the sleep-wake cycle and inflammatory chemicals are also important in the thoroughly lousy feeling we have come to know as a hangover. According to research, more than 1.5billion working days are lost due to headaches.

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While headaches are a symptom of having a migraine, as the UC Davis website points out, migraines are a syndrome with other symptoms besides headaches. According to the National Headache Foundation, over 90% of people have experienced an alcohol-induced headache over the course of their lives. Beer contains ethanol, a natural diuretic that causes you to urinate more than usual, leading to dehydration, which is a common cause of headaches. In addition to histamine, other substances in alcohol, such as sulfites and tyramines, may also contribute to headaches. People should generally avoid hangover cure myths, including “hair https://ecosoberhouse.com/ of the dog” and eating usually unpalatable food such as raw eggs. There is no proven cure for a hangover headache, but there are some methods for improving the symptoms of a hangover.

How can you prevent getting a migraine headache from alcohol?

While there is some research on each possible reason why alcohol causes headaches, study authors have not definitively proven the link between the two. Meanwhile, 2020 research showed that 95% of participants experienced alcohol-induced headaches. If you’ve been drinking heavily for a long time, good nutrition is even more important.

• These give many types of alcoholic beverages their taste and smell.
• And that hangover can evolve into a migraine attack that can last for days.
• A 2014 study from the Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley found that fitness drinks like Gatorade were better for quick hydration after intense exercise.
• For example, drinking even a small amount of alcohol decreases sleep quality.

The reality is several factors cause alcohol-induced headaches. Incidentally, this is also why you might feel dizzy or have extreme thirst after hours of heavy drinking. A person can learn more about the effects alcohol has on a person’s health here.