Previous research presented mixed results on the relationship between mental resilience, that is, the ability to adapt to stress of major life events, and the frequency and severity of experiencing alcohol hangovers. An online survey among n = 854 UK and Irish adults who consume alcohol was conducted to investigate this relationship. Mental resilience was assessed with the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 2). No significant correlations were found between mental resilience and alcohol consumption outcomes. Correlations between mental resilience and hangover frequency and severity were small and not significant (all: |r| < -0.1). Multiple linear regression analyses showed that mental resilience was not a significant predictor of hangover severity (BRS: B = 0.039; 95% CI: -0.127, 0.205; p = 0.644, and CD-RISC 2: B = -0.008; 95% CI: -0.077, 0.092; p = 0.841) or hangover frequency (BRS: B = -0.078; 95% CI: -0.168, 0.012, p = 0.091, and CD-RISC 2: B = -0.043; 95% CI: -0.089, 0.003; p = 0.065).Together, these findings suggest that any association between mental resilience and alcohol hangover outcomes is likely to be small and of limited practical relevance.

Immune fitness is defined as the capacity of the body to respond to health challenges (such as infections) by activating an appropriate immune response to promote health and prevent and resolve disease, which is essential for improving quality of life. Thus, immune fitness plays an essential role in health, and reduced immune fitness may be an important signal of increased susceptibility for disease. Lifestyle factors such as increased levels of alcohol consumption have been shown to negatively impact immune fitness. The alcohol hangover is the most frequently reported negative consequence of alcohol consumption and is defined as the combination of negative mental and physical symptoms, which can be experienced after a single episode of alcohol consumption, starting when blood alcohol concentration (BAC) approaches zero. Significant correlations have been reported between hangover severity and both immune fitness and biomarkers of systemic inflammation. The concepts of immune fitness and alcohol hangover are further linked by the fact that the inflammatory response to alcohol consumption plays an important role in the pathology of the alcohol hangover. Moreover, immune fitness has been related to the susceptibility of experiencing hangovers per se. It is therefore important to investigate the interrelationship between immune fitness and the alcohol hangover, and to identify possible predictor variables of both constructs. This data descriptor article describes a study that was conducted with adults living in the UK or Ireland, evaluating possible correlates and predictors of immune fitness and the alcohol hangover. Data on mood, personality, mental resilience, pain catastrophizing, and sleep were collected from n = 1178 participants through an online survey. Herein, the survey and corresponding dataset are described.

There is seasonal variability in the incidence of immune-related diseases among the general population. Data from two studies was evaluated to determine whether or not this seasonal variability is also present for ratings of immune fitness, i.e., the capacity of the body to respond to health challenges (such as infections) by activating an appropriate immune response, essential to maintain health, prevent and resolve disease, and improve quality of life. The first study comprises a between group comparison of participants that rated their past month’s immune fitness either in winter, spring or summer. The second longitudinal study comprised a within-subject comparison of participants that rated their momentary immune fitness two times in autumn, and subsequently in winter and summer. Both studies did not include any intervention. The analyses revealed no significant differences in immune fitness across the seasons. In conclusion, the impact of health challenges (e.g., the presence of rhinovirus or a greater pollen count) differs between seasons, and thereby can increase the chances of getting sick (e.g., common cold in winter or allergic rhinitis in spring). However, the data from the two studies presented here suggest that immune fitness does not vary across the seasons.

The 2010 Alcohol Hangover Research Group consensus paper defined a cutoff blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.11% as a toxicological threshold indicating that sufficient alcohol had been consumed to develop a hangover. The cutoff was based on previous research and applied mostly in studies comprising student samples. Previously, we showed that sensitivity to hangovers depends on (estimated) BAC during acute intoxication, with a greater percentage of drinkers reporting hangovers at higher BAC levels. However, a substantial number of participants also reported hangovers at comparatively lower BAC levels. This calls the suitability of the 0.11% threshold into question. Recent research has shown that subjective intoxication, i.e., the level of severity of reported drunkenness, and not BAC, is the most important determinant of hangover severity. Non-student samples often have a much lower alcohol intake compared to student samples, and overall BACs often remain below 0.11%. Despite these lower BACs, many non-student participants report having a hangover, especially when their subjective intoxication levels are high. This may be the case when alcohol consumption on the drinking occasion that results in a hangover significantly exceeds their "normal" drinking level, irrespective of whether they meet the 0.11% threshold in any of these conditions. Whereas consumers may have relative tolerance to the adverse effects at their "regular" drinking level, considerably higher alcohol intake-irrespective of the absolute amount-may consequentially result in a next-day hangover. Taken together, these findings suggest that the 0.11% threshold value as a criterion for having a hangover should be abandoned.

Alcohol consumption can negatively affect sleep quality. The current study examined the impact of an evening of alcohol consumption on sleep, and next day activity levels and alcohol hangover. n = 25 healthy social drinkers participated in a naturalistic study, consisting of an alcohol and alcohol-free test day. On both days, a GENEactiv watch recorded sleep and wake, and corresponding activity levels. In addition, subjective assessments of sleep duration and quality were made, and hangover severity, and the amount of consumed alcoholic beverages were assessed. Alcohol consumption was also assessed in real-time during the drinking session, using smartphone technology. The results confirmed, by using both objective and subjective assessments, that consuming a large amount of alcohol has a negative impact on sleep, including a significant reduction in objective sleep efficiency and significantly lower self-reported sleep quality. Activity levels during the hangover day were significantly reduced compared to the alcohol-free control day. Of note, next-morning retrospective alcohol consumption assessments underestimated real-time beverage recordings. In conclusion, heavy alcohol consumption impairs sleep quality, which is associated with increased next day hangover severity and reduced activity levels. The outcome of this study underlines that, in addition to retrospectively reported data, real-time objective assessments are needed to fully understand the effects of heavy drinking.

Studies have demonstrated significant sex differences in alcohol intoxication effects. In contrast, the majority of studies on the alcohol hangover phase did not investigate sex differences. Therefore, the current study examined possible sex differences in the presence and severity of alcohol hangover symptoms. Data from n = 2446 Dutch students (male = 50.7%, female = 49.3%) were analyzed. They reported the presence and severity of 22 hangover symptoms experienced after their past month heaviest drinking occasion. Subjects were categorized according to their estimated peak blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) and presence and severity of the hangover symptoms were compared between men and women. In the lowest eBAC group (0% ≤ eBAC < 0.08%), no significant sex differences were found. In the subsequent eBAC group (0.08% ≤ eBAC < 0.11%), severity of nausea was significantly higher in women than in men. In the third eBAC group (0.11% ≤ eBAC < 0.2%), women reported higher severity scores on nausea, tiredness, weakness, and dizziness than men. Men reported the presence of confusion significantly more often than women, and women reported the presence of shivering significantly more often than men. In the fourth eBAC group (0.2% ≤ eBAC < 0.3%), women reported higher severity scores on nausea and tiredness than men. In the highest eBAC group (0.3% ≤ eBAC < 0.4%), no significant sex differences were found. In conclusion, across the eBAC groups, severity scores of nausea and tiredness were higher in women than in men. However, albeit statistically significant, the observed sex differences in presence and severity of hangover symptoms were of small magnitude, and therefore, have little clinical relevance.

Objective This study aims to investigate attention, memory functioning, and mood in a natural setting with real-life alcohol consumption levels. Methods Seventy-four participants with a mean (SD) age of 24.5 (7.0) years old participated in a naturalistic study. A between subjects design was applied comparing a hangover group with an (alcohol-free) control group. Participants in the hangover group consumed a mean (SD) of 13.8 (10.2) alcoholic drinks the night before testing. Cognitive tests included the Stroop test, Eriksen's flanker test, a divided attention test, intradimensional-extradimensional set shifting test, spatial working memory test, and free word recall test. Results The hangover group had increased reaction times compared with the control group. Selective attention (Stroop and Eriksen's Flanker test performance) was significantly impaired during alcohol hangover. However, the number of errors did not differ significantly between the groups in any task. Mood assessments revealed that the hangover group reported significantly higher levels of drowsiness and clumsiness compared with the control group. Conclusion Selective attention was significantly impaired during alcohol hangover. The differences between the hangover and control group did not reach significance for other forms of attention or memory.

AIMS:The alcohol hangover is typically investigated in student samples. However, alcohol hangovers are also reported by non-student drinkers, beyond the age and drinking behaviors of a student sample. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a normal night of alcohol consumption on next-day cognitive performance in a non-student sample. METHODS:Participants (N = 45) were recruited from a public drinking setting and participated in a naturalistic study comprising of a hangover test day and alcohol-free control day. On each test day, mood and hangover severity were assessed and participants completed a cognitive test battery consisting of a Stroop test, Eriksen's flanker test, spatial working memory test, free recall test, choice reaction time test, and intra-extra dimensional set shifting test. RESULTS:On the hangover day, significantly impaired performance was revealed on all tests, except the intra-extra dimensional set shifting test. On the hangover day, significantly lower mood scores were observed for alertness and tranquility. CONCLUSION:The current study in a non-student sample confirms previous findings in student samples that cognitive functioning and mood are significantly impaired during alcohol hangover.

OBJECTIVE:Knowing the purpose of a clinical study may provoke expectancies among subjects that may influence the study outcome. For example, expectancies about a drug effect may cause subjects to put in more effort to counteract these effects on performance tasks, or cause stress or other mood alterations in anticipation of expected adverse effects. The objective of this study was to investigate to what extent expectancy effects will influence the magnitude of cognitive performance decrement in the alcohol hangover state.RESULTS:Forty subjects with a mean (SD) age of 24.0 (7.4) years old participated in a naturalistic study to examine the alcohol hangover effects on cognitive performance. Subjects in the expectancy group were informed of the purpose of the study. In the control group subjects were told that the purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of time of day on cognitive performance. Subjects consumed a mean (SD) of 12.9 (10.0) alcoholic drinks the night before testing. Cognitive tests included the Stroop test, Eriksen's flanker test, a divided attention test, intra-extra dimensional set shifting test, spatial working memory test, and free word recall test. Expectancy effects did not differentially affect cognitive performance in the alcohol hangover state.

BACKGROUND Alcohol hangover is a common occurrence among individuals who have experienced an episode of heavy alcohol consumption the previous night. Until now defined as the general feeling of misery that develops once the Blood Alcohol Concentration approaches zero. Despite its prevalence and several related adverse consequences, insufficient research has been conducted with regards to this matter and further understanding of the pathology of alcohol hangover is necessary. During the 9th Alcohol Hangover Research Group meeting, held on April 29th 2017, Utrecht, The Netherlands, numerous aspects of alcohol hangover were presented and many advances with regards to determinants, biological and cognitive consequences and potential treatment have been presented. CONCLUSION Precisely, a definition of alcohol hangover has been established and wider understandings of biological and cognitive effects, alcohol metabolism, immune functioning and potential treatment of alcohol hangover were presented and discussed. Further research and development are necessary to attain a wider understanding of the pathology of alcohol hangover.

The dynamic interplay of semantic access during information integration across the verbal and nonverbal domains and sensory modalities is poorly understood. Here, we compared the priming effects of four types of meaningful stimuli (pictures, written words, spoken words, and environmental sounds) on picture and written word targets referring to the same concept in all cases. P3b event-related brain potentials indexed automatic access to semantic memory in the different modalities. As expected, P3b amplitudes were large in the repetition priming condition, but also for word-picture and picture-word visual stimulus pairs. Critically, written word primes resulted in the largest P3b amplitudes whether elicited by written word or picture targets, suggesting a semantic priming supremacy of written words.