Salford scientists say 'beer fear' could make your hangover worse
A new study suggests worrying about how bad a hangover will be could make it more painful.
Worrying about how bad your hangover pain will be could make it worse!
That's according to a recent study carried out by the University of Salford.
Scientists examined how experiences of hangovers varied from person to person, and whether this was linked to whether the individual was likely to “catastrophise pain”.
86 people aged between 18 – 46 were involed in the research and each was asked to answer questions about a recent time when they'd drunk alcohol.
From this, the researchers were able to estimate their blood alcohol levels.
The participants also reported on how bad their hangover had been, and their tendency to worry about the pain in advance.
The research showed a significant relationship between catastrophising pain and hangover severity scores.
Further research identified that there were two distinct types of hangover symptoms; those that were stress-related and those that were dehydration-related.
Both types of symptoms were worse in those who had a higher peak alcohol concentration, while stress-related symptoms were also worse in those who were more likely to catastrophise pain.
Lead researcher Sam Royle explained: “These findings suggest the importance of cognitive coping strategies in how people experience hangovers after drinking alcohol. This may have implications in understanding behavioural responses to hangovers, and also for addiction research.”