7 Things People Believe About Hangovers That Actually Aren’t True

"Many people believe that hangovers can be prevented by taking pain relievers before going to sleep," Dr. Scott Braunstein, M.D., medical director of Sollis Health in LA, tells Bustle. "In fact, this can be dangerous and is not recommended preventatively." For one, the benefits will wear off long before you wake up. For another, taking acetaminophen will aggravate your liver, and aspirin may hurt your stomach lining — both areas that are already pretty tender after a night out.

The idea that the order in which you drink alcohol — beer before hard liquor, for instance — might affect your hangover is pretty pervasive, but it's not actually true. "In fact, it is your peak blood alcohol level that determines how dehydrated and symptomatic you will be," Braunstein says. It doesn't matter if you had two beers, then a glass of wine, or a cocktail followed by wine followed by shots — if you drank too much, you'll feel it when you wake up.

"That is why it's important to set your alcohol intake based on your tolerance level and not by how much people are drinking around you," Dr. Michael Richardson, M.D., a physician at primary care group One Medical, tells Bustle. If you feel you don't know how to stop, it's worth talking to somebody, like your GP or a therapist.

"Water won't prevent a hangover; that's a myth," Tolentino says. A study of Dutch students in 2015 presented to the European College of Neuropharmacology found that while drinking water before bed made some people feel a little better, in general it didn't make any difference to the severity of their hangover symptoms in the morning.

While drinking water throughout the night will lower your alcohol levels gradually, a flood just before bed isn't going to help; your liver is already processing the alcohol. Water will help when you wake up, though, because your body will likely be badly dehydrated.

This is gross, but worth mentioning: If you puked after a heavy night out, it's not going to make a dent the next day. This doesn't lessen your chances of a hangover, Braunstein says. "In fact, all the alcohol has likely been absorbed already, and you are vomiting out stomach acids but not lowering your alcohol level," he says.

Drinking again in the morning will only delay your hangover symptoms, not prevent them, Braunstein says. Hangovers are caused by the body's processing of alcohol over time, and giving it more alcohol to work with just lengthens the process. Instead, you should stick to water or Gatorade. "A water-based drink with electrolytes and a little sugar may help you recover a bit faster than water alone, as alcohol throws off our electrolyte and blood sugar levels," Richardson says.

"Hangovers may hit some people harder than others for a variety of reasons," Tolentino says. "Evidence has increasingly demonstrated that hangover frequency and intensity is at least partially influenced by genetics." Other factors include your body mass, overall health, and what you ate before you went out.

"Even if you and your friend are identical in size, shape, and lifestyle, your body could still process the alcohol differently, leading to differing effects," Richardson says. Hence why your friend Pam can drink like you do all night, and still do yoga in the morning while you're in bed. Ugh, Pam.

Alcohol can make you sleep badly, Dr. Richardson says. "You could sleep for a full 10 hours but your body may feel like it only received four." You may need more sleep after a night out, so there's no shame in staying in bed for a long period, but it's not the only way to feel better.

"Since alcohol is eliminated in urine, sweat, and breath, you would eliminate alcohol faster via exercising and hydrating well," Braunstein says. Once you feel a bit better, Tolentino recommends a bit of gentle movement, as it'll also give you a boost of endorphins that will help your mood.