Why a Wine Hangover Feels Worse (and What Actually Helps)

It's partly the alcohol

Any alcohol makes you urinate more, which is why you wake up dry, with a headache and a dry mouth. Wine is stronger than beer per glass, and a "glass" at home is often closer to two servings.

It's partly what's in red wine

Darker drinks carry more congeners, the byproducts of fermentation and aging. Red wine, bourbon and brandy have more; vodka and gin have almost none. Studies that compare drinks at the same alcohol dose find more hangover with the high-congener ones.

Red wine also has histamine and tannins. Some people are short on the enzyme that clears histamine, and for them red wine means a flushed face and a headache within the hour. Sulfites get blamed a lot, but they mostly bother people with asthma, not the headache crowd.

What actually helps

• Eat before and while you drink. Food slows how fast alcohol hits.
• One glass of water per glass of wine. Boring, and it works.
• Choose lighter: white or rosé has fewer congeners than red.
• Sleep. Nothing replaces it.

The morning after

Fluids, electrolytes and B vitamins are what your body spent. Coffee is not a fluid. Painkillers help the headache but do nothing for the dehydration. If you are far behind and need to function, a Hangover drip puts back a liter of fluids with electrolytes and B vitamins, and with a provider's order the nurse can add anti-nausea or anti-pain support. A licensed nurse comes to you anywhere in New York and New Jersey, 8 AM to 11 PM. Not a cure. A refill.

Book a Hangover drip at zenivspa.com.

All treatments are medical services. Every guest is screened, and every treatment is provided only under the clearance, prescription or standing protocol of a licensed medical provider. Compounded peptides are not FDA-approved unless stated. Nothing on this page is a diagnosis or a promise of results.