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Hangovers can occur at any time of day, but are usually more common in the morning directly after a night of heavy drinking.

As well as physical symptoms, the person may experience elevated levels of anxiety, regret, shame, embarrassment, and depression. The severity of a hangover is closely linked to how much alcohol was consumed, and whether the sufferer had enough sleep; the less sleep, the worse the hangover.

It is impossible really to say how much alcohol can be safely consumed to avoid a hangover - it depends on the individual and other factors, such as how tired they were before they began drinking, whether they were already dehydrated before the drinking began, whether they drank plenty of water during their drinking session, and how much sleep they got afterward.

Hangover symptoms typically begin when your blood alcohol content drops significantly and is at or near zero. They're usually in full effect the morning after a night of heavy drinking. Depending on what and how much you drank, you may notice:

Fatigue and weakness
Excessive thirst and dry mouth
Headaches and muscle aches
Nausea, vomiting or stomach pain
Poor or decreased sleep
Increased sensitivity to light and sound
Dizziness or a sense of the room spinning
Shakiness
Decreased ability to concentrate
Mood disturbances, such as depression, anxiety and irritability
Rapid heartbeat

Hangovers are caused by drinking too much alcohol. A single alcoholic drink is enough to trigger a hangover for some people, while others may drink heavily and escape a hangover entirely.

Various factors may contribute to a hangover. For example:

Alcohol causes your body to produce more urine. In turn, urinating more than usual can lead to dehydration — often indicated by thirst, dizziness and lightheadedness.
Alcohol triggers an inflammatory response from your immune system. Your immune system may trigger certain agents that commonly produce physical symptoms, such as an inability to concentrate, memory problems, decreased appetite and loss of interest in usual activities.
Alcohol irritates the lining of your stomach. Alcohol increases the production of stomach acid and delays stomach emptying. Any of these factors can cause abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting.
Alcohol can cause your blood sugar to fall. If your blood sugar dips too low, you may experience fatigue, weakness, shakiness, mood disturbances and even seizures.
Alcohol causes your blood vessels to expand, which can lead to headaches.
Alcohol can make you sleepy, but it prevents deeper stages of sleep and often causes awakening in the middle of the night. This may leave you groggy and tired.

To avoid recurrence of hangovers, keep track of what you're drinking and stay within the low risk unit guidelines. Our MyDrinkware drink tracking tool can help you keep track.
Avoid alcohol on an empty stomach as it increases the risk of experiencing hangover symptoms. Food helps slow down the rate your body absorbs alcohol.
Try not to get into rounds. They make it harder to control how much you drink.
Drink plenty of water or soft drinks in between alcoholic drinks to avoid dehydration, one of the most prevalent hangover symptoms.
Your body takes about one hour to process each unit of alcohol. Consider stopping drinking well before the end of the evening, so the process can begin before you go to bed and the chances of suffering a hangover the following day are kept to a minimum.
Drink plenty of water before hitting the sack and keep more by the bed.