When you wake up the next morning after a good night out, you'll probably feel rough. It's possible that your friends aren't feeling the same way.

Some may feel worse, some may feel better, and some may not feel anything at all.

This is the variation of a bad night of partying. There are zero effects and ten being extremely hungover on the 11 point scale.

According to my own research, participants have reported a range of degrees from mild to severe on this scale.

Why is it different? How much we drink isn't the only thing to consider. There are many biological and psychological mechanisms that could affect our experience during a hangover.

Biological mechanisms

People with a variation of the genes are more likely to experience more severe headaches.

When we consume alcohol, it's broken down by the alcohol dehydrogenase into acetaldehyde, which is important for the emergence of symptoms of a bad night's sleep.

The ALDH2 gene variant limits the breakdown of acetaldehyde, which leads to a greater build up of theProtein, which leads to more headaches and nausea.

Sex and age can affect how a person feels after a bad night of partying. According to a recent online survey of 761 Dutch alcohol consumers, the severity of a bad reaction to alcohol decreases with age. The authors reported that there were differences in the severity of the problem.

The sex differences between young men and young women were more pronounced in the 18 to 25 year old age group. It isn't known why these differences exist.

Psychological factors

Depression, anxiety, stress levels, and even personality are some of the psychological qualities that may be related to a hangover.

Research has shown that neuroticism, a broad personality trait which tends to cause people to see the world in a negative way, can predict the severity of a hangover.

This idea has been disputed with another study finding no correlation between the two.

It's surprising that extroversion is associated with binge drinking in college students, but it doesn't seem to be related to worse hangovers.

Evidence shows that more frequent heavy drinking is linked to more severe headaches.

Depression, anxiety, and stress are related to more severe hangovers. A negative bias is associated with each of these moods.

People are more likely to interpret the world in a negative way when they have a bad night's sleep. Some people may feel worse than others because of the negative bias that comes from having a bad night's sleep.

Coping mechanisms

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A person's emphasis on the negative experience of pain is called pain catastrophizing. According to research, people with high scores of pain catastrophizing are more likely to have more severe headaches and nausea.

People who tend to cope with their problems by ignoring or denying them tend to experience worse headaches.

Emotion regulation is a key psychological mechanism that helps us to deal with difficult situations.

Although people who are hungover report feeling it's more difficult to regulate their emotions, research shows participants are just as able to control their emotional response compared to those who weren't hungover.

It's possible that this means that people will choose easier regulatory strategies when they have a bad night. This is still being determined.

What can we do?

Researchers have identified a few natural compounds which may help with the symptoms of the idiosyncrasy, but more research is needed to determine if these should be used for treatment. It's up to you to figure out the best way to get rid of your headaches.

One study suggests that a strategy commonly used by students to cope with the misery of a hangover may be helpful in helping relieve some of the negative emotional effects of the event.

Taking care of your own personal wellbeing more generally and finding better strategies to reduce stress levels and adopting better cope mechanisms may help you deal with the negative consequences of a wake up call.

You could always choose non- alcoholic alternatives if you really want to avoid a bad night.

The University of Bristol has a lecturer in psychological science.

Under a Creative Commons license, this article is re-posted. The original article is worth a read.