6 Reasons Hangovers Hurt So Bad, Especially As You Age
Reality is sad, when you consider that as you age, your hangovers will get certainly worse. A recent article by NY Mag titled, “Why Your Hangovers Keep Getting Worse With Age,” confirmed it. But why, how, and what can we do about it?
Why exactly hangovers are worse as you age, scientists still don’t know — isn’t it weird how scientists can figure out stuff like cloning the human genome, but not the effects of alcohol on the human body? — but there are a couple of facts they actually have established about the decline of your body, its response to alcohol, and subsequently, your hangover. Read them and weep like I did below.
1. Fat Doesn’t Absorb Alcohol
Fat doesn’t absorb alcohol, leaving the rest of your body to absorb it for you. As people age, they tend to get fatter, so that sucks.
2. And You’re A Woman
More body fat is also “the reason women, who generally have [more body fat] than men, also tend to have lower tolerance,” NY Mag says. Great!
3. It’s All About Enzymes
Younger bodied-enzymes are better able to break down alcohol while it’s in the liver, during a process that is eventually supposed to digest alcohol and turn it into “carbon dioxide and water, effectively ‘washing out’ the alcohol from your body,” Metro UK reports.
4. The H20 Factor
Younger people have more water in their body, older people have less. We all know water is crucial for digesting alcohol, so basically, being young pretty much does the water work for you.
5. Medication Makes Alcohol Harder On The Body
Old people are apparently more likely to be on medication, since they’re old n’ stuff, though, these days, who knows, which makes it harder to process alcohol in your system.
6. “Immunosenescence”
That’s the process of how your immune system weakens as you age, according to the National Institute on Aging. Your body pretty much just gets worse at everything. So it makes sense that hangovers are included here.
Whatever. I’ll still drink until I’m old and wrinkly.