Why Alcohol Dehydrates
Alcohol inhibits ADH (anti-diuretic hormone) - a hormone that regulates the water level in your blood.
Like many essential nutrients, water is filtered through your kidneys. Usually when your body’s water level is low, ADH is stimulated in the kidneys, allowing more water absorption.
But when ADH is inhibited by alcohol, the water is not reabsorbed into the blood and instead becomes part of your urine - the reason that drinking alcohol makes you have to pee more often.
When you “break the seal” and go to the bathroom, you are losing water that should be in your blood - hence the reason you get dehydrated. The result is that you can expect to experience symptoms like headaches, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, and fatigue - a hangover.
What do you do?
After a night of drinking, try to drink some water before you pass out. This will go a long way towards reducing the effects of dehydration.
You will probably feel much better in the morning.
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I’ll take some water…just add some scotch and a few cubes.