Abstract
Alcohol hangover is a potentially debilitating state. Several studies have demonstrated that it does not seem to impair strength or short-term endurance, but its effects on continuous exercise performance/long-term endurance have never been investigated. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess hiking performance of participants who walked the 15.8 km Samaria Gorge in Crete, Greece. Participants completed a survey in the morning before walking the Gorge, and in the afternoon after completion of the walk. Demographics, data on previous evening alcohol consumption, sleep, hangover symptoms, and walking performance were assessed. Data from N = 299 participants with a mean (SD) age of 38.9 (11.0) years were analyzed. N = 223 participants (74.6%) consumed alcohol the evening before walking the Samaria Gorge, and N = 176 (78.9%) of those reported a hangover. They consumed a mean (SD) of 3.0 (1.8) alcoholic drinks (10 g alcohol each) with a corresponding next-morning hangover severity of 4.6 (2.4) on a 0–10 scale. Participants with a hangover reported feeling significantly more exhausted after the walk compared to participants with no hangover. The groups did not significantly differ in duration of the walk, and the number and duration of breaks. Overall hangover severity, assessed either before, during, or after walking the Samaria Gorge was not significantly correlated with any walking outcome. In conclusion, hungover participants experienced significantly more exhaustion when performing physical activity at the same level as non-hungover participants.
Highlights
The alcohol hangover is defined as the combination of mental and physical symptoms experienced the day after a single episode of heavy drinking, starting when the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) approaches zero [1]
A growing body of evidence shows that cognitive functioning and mood are negatively affected in the hangover state [2,3], which may result in impaired daily activities such as job performance [4,5], riding a bicycle [6], or driving a car [7,8,9]
Participants reported that being tired, sleepiness, headache, nausea, and weakness had the greatest impact on their physical performance in the hangover state
Summary
The alcohol hangover is defined as the combination of mental and physical symptoms experienced the day after a single episode of heavy drinking, starting when the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) approaches zero [1]. In 30 male students, Nelson et al [11] examined various physical performance activities, including grip strength, a 45-s bicycle ergometer test assessing the maximum number of revolutions against 10 Lb resistance, softball throwing, a vertical jump, and push-ups. Karvinen et al [12] examined physical performance in 30 firemen and policemen on grip strength, back lift, vertical jump test and a 5-min bicycle ergometer test on a hangover and control day. No significant performance differences were found between the hangover and control day. In a more recent study, Kruisselbrink et al [13] examined physical activity in the hangover state in 12 females They performed a 6-min submaximal treadmill run at 6 miles per hour, followed by a run to exhaustion once the treadmill had been raised to a 7% grade. No significant performance difference was observed during the hangover state vs. control
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