Alcohol hangover symptoms and their impact on daily activities and mood

Purpose: Although hangover studies often assess the presence and severity of several alcohol hangover symptoms, none of themhave determined the relative impact of individual hangover symptoms on daily functioning. The aim of the current study was to identify those hangover symptoms that have the biggest impact on mood, cognitive functioning, and physical activity. Methods: An online survey was held among Dutch students. Severity of 22 hangover symptoms they experienced during their latest alcohol hangover was assessed using scales ranging from 0 (absent) to 10 (extreme). In addition, the negative impact of these symptoms on (a) mental functioning, (b) physical functioning, and (c)mood, was rated on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (no impact) to 5 (extreme). Overall impact was the sum score of the three domains, ranging from 0 to 15. Results: The survey was completed by N = 1837 subjects who recently had a hangover, after consuming a mean (SD) of 12.6 (5.5) alcoholic drinks. Most frequently reported (>95%of drinkers) and most severe hangover symptoms were being tired (severity 7.0), thirst (severity 6.8), sleepiness (severity 6.7), and concentration problems (severity 6.3). Hangover symptoms with the highest negative impact on mental and physical functioning andmood comprised being tired (impact 8.0), sleepiness (impact 7.6) and headache (impact 7.5), followed by concentration problems (6.6) and nausea (impact 6.0). Having a high severity score does not automatically imply having a high impact score. This was evident for example for thirst (severity 6.8, impact 3.5) and reduced appetite (severity 5.7, impact 2.7). Also, relative impact may differ across the three domains. Discussion: Being tired and sleepiness have both high severity scores and high negative impact scores. However, other symptoms with relative high severity scores, had little negative impact on mental and physical functioning, ormood.