Going out and getting plastered is a popular activity that people of all ages choose to do at some point or another. Sometimes we go out to have fun, while other times we party a little harder than we intended and are left wondering why we have hangover symptoms the following morning. While most of us know that we have a hangover, few of us really consider what a hangover is and how it affects our body. 

What is a hangover?

What is a hangover? According to the Mayo Clinic, a hangover is "a group of unpleasant signs and symptoms that can develop after drinking too much alcohol"—aka when you drink more than what you're able to handle, and then your body reacts to all of the alcohol you're putting into it.

When you drink too much alcohol, it impacts your brain by making it harder to function since alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to an irregular heartbeat as well as headaches and shakiness.

Hangover Symptoms

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Emily Chaisson

Whenever you have a hangover, you may feel as if you're on your deathbed. However, that's not usually the case. If you had a lot to drink, you might start puking either in the toilet or in the neighbor's fishbowl. Your mouth will feel dehydrated, and your head will feel like someone placed you into a permanent handstand with a hula hoop around your body—but that's not all, folks.

When you have a hangover, you might not be able to sleep well at night, or not at all. The lights in your room or from the outside might seem like they're burning your eyes out of your sockets, and you might think even getting up to use the bathroom is a very daunting adult responsibility.

Your body might be shaking from too much alcohol intake—especially if you drank some booze that's more sugary than you were capable of handling.

That might seem like something that Satan would bring upon you, but it's not—it's something that alcohol does to you, and I can testify to all of these side effects as a result of putting too much booze into my system within a short amount of time.

How to Get Rid of Your Hangover

There will be those times where you genuinely need your hangover to take a backseat. However, your hangover might feel like it's entitled to stay around and be all up in your business. If you want to win this battle against your hangover, here's what you should do.

1. Drink Gatorade. You might be thinking that it's just for sports players, but the electrolytes can help cure your seemingly never ending hangover.

2. Sleep if you can. This might not seem productive if you have things to do, but sometimes you just need to take care of yourself. Sleep helps your body recover after a night out, so it's important to clock some z's if you're hungover. 

3. Say no to those offering you more booze whenever you're hungover. By drinking more booze after a night out, your body will have more alcohol to metabolize, thus making you deal with the consequences of a hangover for that much longer.

Now that you know exactly what a hangover is and how it affects your body, I hope you can avoid it in the future. If you do choose to drink tonight, please be careful and familiarize yourself with the side effects of drinking too much so that you can take care of yourself.