Hangover Myths: 'Cures' and Rules That Science Doesn't Back Up

Most popular hangover rules don't survive testing: a 2019 randomized trial found the order you drink beer and wine makes no difference, "hair of the dog" only postpones symptoms and no remedy has strong evidence, while drinking less remains the only proven fix.^{1, 2, 3} Below, we check eight common hangover myths against the actual studies, and flag the few beliefs that do hold up.

Myth: "Beer before liquor, never been sicker"

False, at least for beer and wine, the only pairing that's been tested. The order didn't matter; how drunk people got did.¹

In the 2019 trial, 90 adults aged 19 to 40, half of them women, were randomly assigned to drink beer and then wine, wine and then beer, or only one of the two, to a breath alcohol level of at least 0.11%. A week or more later, they switched. Neither the type nor the order of drinks changed hangover severity. The strongest predictors were how drunk people felt and whether they vomited.¹

The caveats: the trial was open-label, and no trial has tested beer versus liquor specifically. NIAAA's view is that the total amount you drink matters most.² If the rule seems true from experience, one untested explanation is simple: whatever you drink last, you drink when you've already had the most.

Myth: Hair of the dog works

It postpones the hangover rather than curing it. A morning drink "might temporarily minimize some symptoms," NIAAA says, but "could contribute to and prolong the malaise and other symptoms of the hangover."²

The usual scientific explanation involves methanol, a congener the body clears after ethanol; more ethanol delays its breakdown. That idea rests on a 1987 study of four volunteers.⁷ A later study of 36 drinkers found urine methanol didn't track hangover severity.⁸

There's a bigger reason to skip it. "How often during the last year have you needed a first drink in the morning to get yourself going after a heavy drinking session?" is a question on the World Health Organization's standard screening test for hazardous drinking.⁹ If morning drinking has become a habit, that's worth taking seriously.

Myth: A greasy breakfast soaks up alcohol

Food can't soak up alcohol that's already in your bloodstream. Timing is everything: eating before or while you drink slows how fast your stomach empties, which slows alcohol absorption, and meals high in fat, carbohydrate or protein work about equally well.⁴

The morning after, the alcohol is mostly absorbed and you're waiting for your body to clear what's left. Eat what you can keep down. Bland carbohydrates like toast or crackers are the usual advice for an unsettled stomach.¹² Alcohol irritates the stomach lining and increases acid, so a heavy, greasy plate isn't always the kindest choice.²

Myth: You can sweat or run it out

You can't sweat out a meaningful amount of alcohol. Less than 10% leaves the body unchanged in breath, sweat and urine; about 90% is broken down by oxidation, mostly in the liver.⁴ That process runs at a roughly fixed rate after the first few drinks.¹³

A sauna or hard workout mostly adds fluid loss. And because a hangover can impair coordination and decision-making, it's a poor time for anything that needs good balance or quick reactions.² A gentle walk is fine if you feel up to it, but it won't speed anything up.

Myth: Coffee sobers you up

No. Nothing, coffee included, has been shown to meaningfully speed up how fast your body clears alcohol, and coffee doesn't cure a hangover; only time does.^{2, 13} Coffee, cold showers and walking also don't reverse alcohol poisoning, and they could make it worse.¹⁴

Feeling more awake after a coffee isn't the same as being sober, which matters if you're deciding whether to drive. The morning after, if you drink coffee daily, your usual cup is reasonable: skipping it can bring on a caffeine-withdrawal headache, which about half of people got in experimental studies.¹⁵

Myth: Clear liquor never causes hangovers

Clear liquor causes hangovers too; in the one good trial, they were somewhat milder. In a trial of 95 heavy drinkers aged 21 to 33, both vodka and bourbon caused hangovers compared with placebo at the same breath alcohol level (0.11%). People felt worse after bourbon, but next-day performance didn't differ.¹⁶

Darker spirits tend to contain more congeners, compounds other than ethyl alcohol that form during fermentation, and those can worsen symptoms for some people. But alcohol is the main culprit.² Wine adds sulfites, which can cause headaches in sensitive people.² More on that in wine hangovers.

Myth: Hangovers are just dehydration

Dehydration is part of the picture, but it isn't the cause. Alcohol does suppress vasopressin, a hormone that helps you hold on to water, so you urinate more.² Yet in human studies, dehydration markers, including vasopressin and electrolytes, didn't correlate with hangover severity.⁵

A 2024 review called hangover and dehydration "two co-occurring but independent consequences of alcohol consumption."¹⁷ In a 2026 randomized trial, drinking water alongside sake didn't change next-day symptoms.¹⁸ Drink water for thirst, but don't expect it to fix the rest. See does alcohol dehydrate you? and what to drink for a hangover.

Myth: A pill can prevent hangovers

No pill, powder or drip has been shown to prevent or cure hangovers. A 2005 systematic review found "no compelling evidence" for any intervention, and a 2022 review of 21 placebo-controlled trials rated all the evidence as very low quality.^{19, 3}

Some popular ingredients have been tested and failed. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) showed no significant benefit in two randomized trials.^{20, 21} Of 82 marketed hangover products examined in 2021, none had peer-reviewed human data showing safety or efficacy.²² Dihydromyricetin (DHM), a plant flavonoid common in these products, hasn't been tested on its own for hangover in a randomized human trial as of October 2026; the research is mostly in rats and mice.²³

Regulators take the same line. In July 2020, FDA warned seven companies that products claiming to cure, treat or prevent hangovers are unapproved drugs.²⁴ More in do hangover pills work?

Which hangover myths hold up? What the evidence actually supports

A few beliefs survive, and they're mostly about prevention. Here's the scorecard:

That age result surprises people: in 51,645 Danes, men aged 18 to 29 had 6.8 times the odds of a severe hangover after binge drinking as men 60 and older.²⁵ It's survey data, so see why hangovers seem to get worse with age for the caveats.

What does hold up: drinking less, eating before you drink, pacing yourself, and protecting your sleep.^{2, 4, 26} The morning after, NSAIDs, the class of pain relievers that includes ibuprofen, have some trial support for hangover headache, but follow the label, avoid acetaminophen after drinking, and ask a pharmacist if you drink daily or have stomach, kidney or liver problems.^{27, 12} Current US guidance sums it up: "Consume less alcohol for better overall health." Some people shouldn't drink at all, including anyone pregnant, recovering from alcohol use disorder or unable to control their drinking, or taking medicines that interact with alcohol.²⁸ Our guides cover how to cure a hangover and how to prevent one in detail. For the biology, see what causes a hangover.

What we don't know yet

• Whether drinking beer before liquor matters. Only beer and wine have been tested.¹
• Whether any remedy works in large, independent trials. Most positive results come from single small studies.³
• Why hangovers seem to ease with age: lower pain sensitivity, different drinking habits or different recall are all possible.²⁹

Published by Fuller Health, which makes After Party. This article is general information, not medical advice: talk to a doctor or pharmacist about your own health, medicines and drinking. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research and write.