Why does someone get drunk when they drink alcohol? & bull; hello healthy

Drunkenness is a physically and mentally uncomfortable state and usually follows the consumption of both large and small amounts of alcohol. Signs of drunkenness include:

• Feeling very tired
• Headache
• Increased sensitivity to light and sound
• Red eye
• Pain in the muscles of the body
• Excessive thirst
• Increase in systolic blood pressure
• Increased heart rate
• Tremor
• Excessive sweating
• Dizziness, sometimes like vertigo where the room feels spinning
• Feeling depressed and overly nervous

These symptoms can vary from person to person and begin several hours after a person has consumed alcohol, especially when their BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) levels are low. When the BAC is zero, hangover symptoms usually start to appear and will last up to 24 hours later.

But what causes a person to experience hangover symptoms when drinking alcohol? Check out the following explanation.

Direct effect of alcohol on the body

Dehydration and electrolyte imbalance

Alcohol increases urine production by inhibiting hormones from working antidiuretic or vasopressin. The more alcohol you drink, the more urine will be produced. Coupled with sweating, nausea, and diarrhea that often appear in those who are drunk, as a result, signs of dehydration will appear when drunk, such as thirst, feeling weak, dry mouth, and dizziness.

Digestive system disorders

Alcohol directly irritates digestion, causing inflammation of the stomach lining. Alcohol can also trigger the formation of liver fat and increase stomach acid production. This is why people who are drunk often experience pain in the upper abdomen, nausea, and vomiting.

Decrease in blood sugar levels

Fat formation in the liver can inhibit the production of glucose in the body. Consuming alcohol for a long time coupled with insufficient daily nutritional intake can cause a decrease in glucose production in the body. Not only that, the liver's ability to normally convert glucose from glycogen is also reduced, resulting in hypoglycemia. Since glucose is the main food for the brain, hypoglycemia can cause fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and changes mood .

Disruption of the body's biological clock

The tired effects that come from alcohol can disrupt sleep and can lead to insomnia. In addition, alcohol can inhibit growth hormone work at night and actually triggers the work of the hormone cortisol which should be low at night. Disturbing the body's biological clock can make a person feel dizzy the next day.

Other factors that influence hangovers

Apart from the direct effect of alcohol on the body, several other factors apart from alcohol that influence the incidence of intoxication are:

Age

As we get older, the less our body's ability to cope with the effects of alcohol will decrease. Based on a study it is known that hangover symptoms and alcohol withdrawal it is less common in adolescents and young adults. Research on mice also showed that young mice experienced less drunkenness-related behavioral changes when compared to older mice.

Types of alcohol drinks

Research suggests that alcoholic drinks that are darker in color are more likely to cause hangovers when compared to alcoholic drinks that are lighter in color or clear. This is related to a substance called the fermentation process congeners . Dark colored drinks (such as red wine , bourbon, whiskey) has content congeners which is higher when compared to gin and vodka. More levels congeners, then the hangover will get worse. Likewise, if we consume several types of alcoholic drinks at once.

Genetic

Hangover symptoms have to do with how efficiently your body breaks down alcohol. Genes play an important role in enzymes that work to process acetaldehyde (a byproduct of alcohol that is toxic to the body).

Coke mix

Mixing alcohol with soft drinks can worsen hangover symptoms. Soft alcohol will reach the small intestine more quickly, so it will enter the bloodstream more quickly. This causes the hangover symptoms you experience the next day to get worse.

Gender

Women are more at risk of getting drunk than men. This is due to the difference in the percentage of water in the bodies of women and men. Women have higher levels of fat, so automatically the water content is lower because fat cells store less water. Meanwhile, the male body is dominated by muscles which mostly consist of water. Lack of water will make it harder for blood alcohol to dilute.