Why Hangovers Get Worse After the Age of 35?

Consuming too much of alcohol is certainly not good for health and nature takes a smart turn in indicating it. While drinking alcohol, you may feel nothing but later or the next morning you may have experienced nausea, lassitude and throbbing headache. This is a part of hangovers, commonly occurring after drinking. Age tends to influence hangover as during youth you may not feel any trouble or uneasiness. However with growing age, such symptoms start appearing and hangovers can gradually become worse. It is important to know why hangovers get worse after the age of 35 and the ways to manage it.

Hangover usually occurs right after the night of heavy drinking. The breakdown of liquor is usually a dual step process, where the liver absorbs alcohol, especially the high toxic chemical and later converts it into some non-toxic chemical. Now, it takes less than an hour to complete the process, however, when more alcohol is consumed, the process turns more intricate. The problem is worse when more amount of alcohol is consumed in a short span of time. Alcohol and its components mix with the blood stream, poisoning the blood in and out. So, the more you drink the more hangover you are likely to experience.

Every person reacts in a different manner when you are having hangover. Mostly, people experience dehydration, pounding headache, nausea and vomiting. Few may experience elevated levels of anxiety, shame, embarrassment, and regret, also in some cases depression.

If you are wondering why with growing age hangover turns horrible, it is a genuine concern. Those who are having habit of taking drinks quite frequently would find hangover as their reliable consistent friend, giving company every morning.

After age of 35, hangover becomes frequent and worse due to several factors. With growing age, tolerance towards alcohol reduces and other bodily functions like digestion may also slow down. Age invites varying physical changes such as fat accumulation, reduced muscle mass and alcohol makes the body lose its normal equilibrium, thus facing situations like hangover.

• Reduced Muscle Mass – Muscle mass is stabilized and consistent during young age. With consistent muscle mass, alcohol metabolizes easily and effectively. The speed of alcohol metabolizing is also fast, which means with fastest pace muscle absorbs alcohol and leaves traces of alcohol into blood in negligible amount. However, things become different when fat begins to accumulate with aging. Fats are incapable of absorbing alcohol from blood. After the age of 35, alcohol tends to stay longer in blood, thus causing unnecessary hangover symptoms. This is one of the main causes of hangovers getting worse after the age of 35 years.
• Increased Sensitivity – Many people have sensitivity towards tannins and sulphites, which are found in different proportions in varying types of alcoholic beverages. With growing age, this sensitivity increases and gives rise to symptoms like nausea, throbbing headache and other symptoms.
• Dehydration – Many people are unaware of the fact that dehydration can cause hang over. When you grow in age, the amount of water starts lacking in the body and people after age 35 can easily become dehydrated. Dehydration is aggravated by alcohol and the next day you start feeling giddy and nauseated. Hangovers get worse after the age of 35 because of this reason.
• Reduced Digestion – Alcohol is broken in particles in body by enzymes, particularly dehydrogenase enzyme works upon alcohol. This enzyme is sufficient in younger age, but with passing days their presence in blood reduces. Especially during the age of 35 to 40, the amount of this enzymes decreases making digestion difficult. When alcohol particles are not broken, it remains for longer time in blood and causes hangover. The effect of alcohol continues. In this stage, the liver becomes larger and its capability of breaking down alcohol reduces. This is one of the commonest causes of why hangovers get worse after the age of 35.
• Drug Interactions – After the age of 35 years, many people tend to consume medicines as a part of treatment for chronic pain or other lifestyle disorders. Most of these medicines are known to cause increased sensitivity and decreasing tolerance towards blood. Also, liver is known to metabolize both alcohol and medicine. When the functioning of liver is affected, digestion of alcohol is also affected and interactions of alcohol and drug can cause hangovers to get worse after the age of 35 years.
• Reduced Sleep – The effect of alcohol depends upon sleep as well. Sleep has much to do with hangover and it hardly matters whether it is for adults or for younger ones. With increasing age, sleep often reduces and many people even after consuming alcohol are seen to be experiencing sleepless nights. REM sleep is pretty much interrupted by alcohol. Thus, these two factors, alcohol and sleep disturb the whole process contributing to worsening of hangovers after the age of 35 years.

There are many things, which can be done to reduce hangover. You can take medicine, you can consume lemon water or go for warm vapor. There are few quick relief medicines, which work best when you are having hangover. It is in best advantage to have alcohol in moderation without overdoing anything. Also, as many health problems increase after the age of 35 years, it is important to follow a healthy routine with a balanced diet, regular exercise, sleep and manage stress to be able to live a healthy life.

Also Read:

• 9 Best Solutions to Get Relief from Hangover
• How to Avoid Hangover?