As a freshman in college we either face the 8 a.m blues or the super late classes that don’t end until 5, but sometimes those late classes come in handy after a long night here at Penn State. I for one lucked out by only having an 11:15 class on Fridays, but others at Penn State aren’t that lucky and have to wake up for class on Fridays after such a critically acclaimed night to be out, Thursday. After “Thirsty Thursday” I would assume people wake up hungover and unhappy, so I began to wonder if there are any scientific remedies to cure a hangover and get people ready for a full day of classes. Could vitamins, coffee,  food, or water really do that much for those who suffer? It is truly something I wanted to investigate.

First off we have to ask where the dreaded hangover comes from? With symptoms including nausea, drowsiness, headaches, sweating, and anxiety which derives from elevated levels of acetaldehyde. Due to an experimental study conducted in 2000 researchers were able to determine that higher acetaldehyde levels increased skin temperature, facial flushing, increased heart rate, low blood pressure, dry mouth, nausea and headaches- aka a hangover. This was followed up with a study in China in 2014, finding that built up acetate from drinking is responsible for hangovers. The “X” variable being the alcohol consumption and “Y” being increased levels of acetaldehyde, heavy drinking is proven to be causal of elevated levels of acetaldehyde, which proceeds to give us hangovers.

Is there a way to beat the dreadful blues of a hangover? Researchers in Australia, more specifically at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organization found that if a person consumes a pear before a night out it will reduce the effects of a hangover because they lower alcohol levels. In their study they had a placebo drink and a pear drink and found that the pear drink “significantly reduced” hangover symptoms. The reasoning behind this is because pears affect enzymes involved in alcohol metabolism, which helps the body metabolizes. Although these findings are available, scientists claim that these are just preliminary studies and there is still a ways to go in finding a cure for a hangover.

Other researchers have admitted that there is very little evidence in curing a hangover, and what it really needs is time. One reason behind this is the fact that there are too many symptoms that come with a hangover. Their best recommendations are sleeping and staying hydrated with water, along with Aspirin over Tylenol because Tylenol can be harmful to the body. The FDA has said the mix of Tylenol and alcohol can poison your liver which could lead to liver failure, and the overdoses are a lot easier to get then people assume. Overall, there really isn’t much evidence behind finding a cure to a hangover. There are just too many symptoms and risks of popping pills to help the symptoms you are facing. I really believe more research should be done on this topic since it is something so many people face everyday. I do thing if you are stuck in the morning just feeling horrible, considering eating a pear before you go out may be helpful but as of now there truly isn’t much evidence behind curing a hangover. There is obviously a causation between heavy drinking and how a person feels the next day though, so take it easy or you will deal with the consequences.