Hangovers: What Really Helps?

04/06/23 • 18 min

12 Listeners

What actually cures a hangover? Water? Crushed up Advil? Maybe a burger, fries and a Diet Coke? We wanted to know what the science says about how to bounce back when we’ve had a few too many. We talk to psychopharmacologist Andrew Scholey to find out.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsHangovers

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Party on Bourbon Street

(02:11) Does water cure a hangover? What about electrolytes?

(08:08) Does sleep cure a hangover?

(9:24) Inflammation and hangovers

(11:41) What actually works for a hangover

Credits:

This episode was produced by R.E. Natowicz, with help from Wendy Zukerman and Meryl Horn, along with Joel Werner, Rose Rimler, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Gimlet’s managing director is Nicole Beemsterboer. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music by Bobby Lord, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bumi Hidaka. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to including Dr. Sally Adams, Prof. Daryl Davies, Prof. Steve Allsop, Prof. David Mangelsdorf, Jöran Köchling, Dr. Stephen Goodman and Dr. Tamara Hew-Butler. Special thanks to the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

Science Vs is a Spotify Original Podcast and a Gimlet production. Follow Science Vs on Spotify and if you wanna receive notifications every time we put out a new episode, tap the bell icon!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsHangovers

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Party on Bourbon Street

(02:11) Does water cure a hangover? What about electrolytes?

(08:08) Does sleep cure a hangover?

(9:24) Inflammation and hangovers

(11:41) What actually works for a hangover

Credits:

Science Vs is a Spotify Original Podcast and a Gimlet production. Follow Science Vs on Spotify and if you wanna receive notifications every time we put out a new episode, tap the bell icon!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Previous Episode

Alcohol: Time to Put a Cork in It?

For decades we’ve been yanked around over alcohol: one day it’s actually good for us, the next day it’s a killer. And recently there’ve been reports that even a little bit of booze is bad for you overall. We first looked into this back in 2019, and since then the research has evolved faster than a nanobrewery’s tap list. So today we’re diving back into the science to find out: is just a bit of alcohol dangerous? We talk to epidemiologist and nutritionist Prof. Eric Rimm, psychologist Prof. Tim Stockwell, cancer researcher Dr. Susan Gapstur, and substance use disorder researcher Dr. Peter Butt.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/AlcoholCorkinItScienceVsTranscript

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) The debate over alcohol

(03:26) Why alcohol might be good for us

(10:10) Why alcohol might be bad for us

(16:30) Why are experts recommending even less alcohol now?

(19:30) Alcohol and cancer risk

(25:32) Our conclusion on alcohol

Credits:

This episode was produced by Meryl Horn with help from R.E. Natowicz, Wendy Zukerman as well as Disha Bhagat, Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang, Joel Werner, and Kaitlyn Sawrey. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Editing help from Caitlin Kenney. Gimlet’s managing director is Nicole Beemsterboer. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard, Michelle Harris and Michelle Dang. Mix and sound design by Catherine Anderson, Bobby Lord and Peter Leonard. Music by Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to all the researchers we got in touch with for this episode including Dr. Arthur Klatsky, Dr. Krishna Aragam, Dr. William Kerr, Dr. Tim Niami, Professor William Ghali, Dr. Wendy Chen, Max Griswold and many others. Recording help from Andrew Stelzer, Susanna Capelouto, Katie Sage, and Joseph Fridman. Also thanks to Lynn Levy, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. Science Vs is a Spotify Original Podcast and a Gimlet production. Follow Science Vs on Spotify, and if you wanna receive notifications every time we put out a new episode, tap the bell icon!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Next Episode

Superbugs: Apocalypse … Now?

Imagine getting an infection, going to the doctor, and having no little pill to make you better. Welcome to a world of SUPERBUGS. For years we've been hearing that our antibiotics aren't working as well as they used to. But recently, it feels like things have really gotten out of hand — we’re told that these super scary antibiotic-resistant bugs are EVERYWHERE. In today’s episode, Wendy visits a freezer filled with superbugs to find out how worried we need to be, and what scientists are doing about this. We talk to Dr. Fernando Gordillo Altamirano, Professor Edward Feil, and Dr. Tina Joshi.

Find our transcript here: http://bit.ly/3o914qb

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) What's up with superbugs?

(04:59) Are superbugs everywhere?

(08:32) How is antibiotic resistance spreading?

(14:33) Why aren't we all dead?

(20:52) Meet phages: superbug-killing viruses

(30:33) What else needs to happen to fight superbugs?

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Joel Werner, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, R.E. Natowicz, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Gimlet’s managing director is Nicole Beemsterboer. Fact checking by Carmen Drahl. Mix and sound design by Catherine Anderson. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, So Wiley, Peter Leonard, and Bumi Hidaka. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to including Professor Evgeni V. Sokurenko, Professor Anton Peleg, Professor Jon Iredell, Dr Alejandro Chavez, Dr Branwen Morgan, Professor Asad Khan, Professor Ramanan Laxminarayan, Dr Vanina Guernier-Cambert, Dr Calum Walsh, Dr Claire Gorrie, Dr Marc Stegger. Special thanks to Dr Karl, Pierce Singgih, Flora Lichtman, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

Science Vs is a Spotify Original Podcast and a Gimlet production. Follow Science Vs on Spotify, and if you want to get notifications every time we put out a new episode, tap the bell icon in your app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices