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It’s the season for celebrating – and many of those celebrations include imbibing alcohol. Which sometimes leaves us the next morning with uncomfortable reminders of our excesses. But does what we drink—say bourbon versus vodka—make a difference? Apparently so, according to a study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Researchers enlisted 95 volunteers. Their sleep patterns were measured to make sure that lack of rest didn’t distort the results. Those who got drunk on bourbon reported worse hangovers—headaches, nausea and general discomfort. And they performed worse on tasks that required careful attention for decision-making. They didn’t sleep any worse than vodka drinkers, though.
Here’s why bourbon might hurt more: many alcoholic beverages contain byproducts of fermentation called congeners, complex organic compounds that in large doses can have toxic effects. And darker distilled drinks and wines generally have more of these congeners than do lighter ones. Bourbon, in fact, has 37 times more than vodka does. Which, the researchers note, may add to the hangover effect. So if you’re worried about a dark hangover cloud in the morning, maybe stick to lighter drinks tonight.
—Cynthia Graber
[The above text is an exact transcript of the audio in the podcast.]
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4 Comments
Add CommentThe color of burbon doesn't come from fermentation. It comes from wood aging. Once you distill any mash it is a clear liquid, vodka generally get filtered so that possibly where the cogners get filtered out with activated charcoal.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a very unscientific premise but possibly a fruitful area for future research. Over the last 35+ years I have carefully questioned dozens of psychotherapy patients following a bout of alcoholic intoxication which led to problematic behavior, about their consumption, feelings, thoughts and behavior. Briefly, I reach similar conclusions, i.e. the darker the drink, the more problematic the behavior; it got to the point with some addicts that I could predict from their behavior what they had drunk or vice versa. I was never able to discern any differences between vodkas. Drinking beer and colored liquors seemed to lead more quickly to more wild or manic incidents. Lite beer seemed less problematic than regular beer or ale.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis tid bit of information was well known over 50 years ago, probably longer! I wonder how much taxpayers money went into the grant for this foundation of knowledge?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSpiff
very good
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