The "hangover effect" is a strange phenomenon experienced by some of us who feel unusually good the day after binge drinking, rather than suffering from the expected headache, nausea, or fatigue. Instead of feeling rough, we wake up with a sense of mental clarity, optimism, calmness, and even increased productivity. It’s like our brains have been reset, offering a clear-headedness that’s baffling to most who associate heavy drinking with misery the next day.

For those interested, we’ve got a whole community over at r/hangovereffect, where we’ve tried to find common traits among us and piece together why this happens. Here’s what we’ve noticed so far:

• Neurodivergence: A lot of us seem to have ADHD
• Sinus/Nasal Issues: Surprisingly, many of us deal with chronic sinus issues or nasal congestion
• GABA Imbalance: We suspect this has something to do with GABA imbalance
• Painkillers: Many of us feel some general relief from everyday discomforts with ibuprofen, paracetamol, or aspirin
• MTHFR Gene: There’s a suspicion that the MTHFR gene, which affects folate processing, could play a role
• Sleep Deprivation: Interestingly, many of us notice similar effects from occasional sleep deprivation
• Chronic Fatigue/Anhedonia: Many in the group struggle with chronic fatigue and low mood, which are completely lifted when the hangover effect kicks in

About Me: I experience the hangover effect after drinking a large amount of alcohol – what most would call binge drinking. After x drinks, I have a sort of allergic reaction where I’ll sneeze/have a runny nose for 10–15 minutes. Once that passes, I can keep drinking and know the hangover effect will be in full swing the next day.

These days, I don’t drink much – just the occasional glass of wine once or twice a week. But every 10 days or so, I’ll have a heavy night out just to « reset » and feel good for a day or two afterwards. I also do Dry January and Sober October each year to give my body a break as binge drinking 3x a month is not exactly healthy, and while it’s easy to abstain from alcohol, I tend to feel exhausted and have anhedonia during that time.

We’ve tried all sorts of supplements and discussed endless hypotheses in our community, but we haven’t yet cracked the mystery behind this.

Thoughts?