Alcoholic hangover and performance: a review

Abstract

The study of alcoholic hangover is reviewed, with particular concern given to its effects upon skills performance. Different models of hangover, and the evidence gathered in their support, are surveyed. Several factors appear to contribute to hangover, and individuals may be differentially susceptible to these influences. The severity of hangover is affected by dose, coproducts of manufacture, and a number of psychological variables. Hangover is differentiated from post-intoxication effects on performance, and the results of a variety of studies on these effects are considered. Post-intoxication effects have been found in a variety of tasks, but no tasks have been consistently affected in a number of studies. This may reflect the fact that few studies have used the same tasks to assess performance. Proposed mechanisms of post-intoxication effects are considered, and the most consistent symptom accompanying impaired performance is found to be fatigue. This notion finds some support in electroencephalographic data collected during the period following intoxication.

Female Beer Drinking and the Morning After

“…Introducing alcohol to the body initiates a number of short-term physiological adaptations including altered neural and endocrine functioning ( Lemon, 1993 ). Hangover is thought to be caused, in part, by re-adaptation processes once alcohol has been fully metabolised and cleared.…”

“…In general, the extant research is inconsistent in showing decrements in performance with hangover, prompting Lemon (1993) to state, " it must be noted that for nearly every performance difference found in the post-intoxication state, there is at least one other study using the same, or similar, tests which has reported no effect " (p. 309). Therefore, we can only assume that the delayed effects of alcohol on performance do not substantially differ between females and males.…”

“…Source: For summaries of work prior to 1993, see Gauvin et al (1993) and Lemon (1993). Morrow et al ., 1993 ;Taylor et al ., 1996 ;Petros et al ., 2003 ) of signifi cant decreases in performance.…”

“…In their reviews of the hangover literature, Lemon (1993) and Gauvin et al . (1993) both have provided summary tables of the post-intoxication effects of alcohol on performance once BAC had returned to zero.…”

A snapshot of workplace drug testing in Italy

“…Besides the acute effects, substance use occurring hours before the beginning of the shift can cause spillover effects, such as fatigue and hangovers that may independently increase the injury risk . In fact, it has been shown that hangovers affect cognitive skills, including tasks related to driving or piloting aircrafts, which may influence the risk of injury in a manner similar to the influences of acute alcohol intoxication …”