Take A Double Shot of Aspirin: Hangovers Only Get Worse as You Age

This makes me want a drink.

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Rose Byrne, left, and Melissa McCarthy, right, of the cast of Bridesmaids drink from miniature bottles of alcohol as they present during the Academy Awards on February 26, 2012.

If you thought hangovers in your 20s and 30s were bad, then you better start stocking up on Aspirin and Gatorade now.

The WSJ reports that the repercussions of drinking only get amplified in people’s 40s and 50s due to everything from body composition to lifestyle choices.

“You’re becoming more work-oriented, more family-oriented,” Rutgers director of the Center of Alcohol Studies Robert Pandina said. “You might have a more sensitive response to alcohol because you’ve lowered your exposure to alcohol overall.”

In other words, they have lower tolerances. The CDC measured that 52% of 45-64 year olds are “regular” drinkers having at least 12 drinks a year. Hold up: having a drink a month makes you a regular drinker? A drink a week seems more reasonable but hey, we’re not doctors.

So is the answer to avoiding nasty hangovers asking for smaller glasses, or ordering out of fishbowls with a straw more regularly to build that tolerance back up? Considering depleting liver functions, increasing brain sensitivities, and the propensity to take more medications (that sometimes don’t mix well with booze), the answer is probably the former.

[WSJ]