It isn’t for everyone, but many this New Year’s Eve will partake in libations and spirits — ringing in 2025 with a glass, or three, of alcohol.
Driving under the influence is illegal, dangerous and often deadly, but AAA East Central officials would also like to remind partygoers that driving with a hangover can be just as reckless and terrible.
Jim Garrity, AAA East Central’s director of public affairs, said many people will wake up New Year’s Day with alcohol still in their blood, and they will feel tired and disoriented.
While several home remedies — like Midol, Pedialyte, or some “hair of the dog” — serve as strong ballasts against hangovers, the only thing that brings true sobriety is time. It can take between 75-to-90 minutes, or longer, for the human body to eliminate the amount of alcohol contained in one standard-sized drink of eight, or so, ounces.
And this is longer than many people think.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, hangover symptoms peak when the blood alcohol concentration in the body returns to near zero.
Symptoms can last 24 hours or longer, and can include:
+ Fatigue and weakness
+ Headaches and muscle aches
+ Nausea and stomach pain
+ Poor or decreased sleep
+ Dehydration
+ Vertigo
+ Sensitivity to light and sound
+ Anxiety
+ Irritability
+ And increased blood pressure
Stay smart, and have a backup plan if return travel from a night of festivities is in the forecast.
