"Beer before wine and you'll feel fine; wine before beer and you'll feel queer"—this old saying suggests the order of drinks affects your hangover. But a rigorous scientific study proves otherwise: excessive drinking, regardless of sequence, is what leads to misery the next day.
In a controlled experiment, 90 healthy volunteers aged 19-40 were divided into three groups. The first drank about 2.5 liters of beer followed by four large glasses of wine. The second reversed the order. The control group consumed either beer or wine only.
The study's crossover design was a key strength: one week later, groups one and two switched orders, while controls swapped beverages. This made each participant their own control, minimizing bias.
Participants rated their well-being and intoxication (0-10 scale) regularly. Before bed, they received body-weight-adjusted water and stayed under medical supervision overnight.
The next day, hangovers were scored 0-56 on the Acute Hangover Scale, factoring thirst, fatigue, headache, dizziness, nausea, stomach pain, heart rate, and appetite loss.
Results showed no significant difference in hangover severity across groups based on drink order. Women reported slightly worse symptoms than men. While blood/urine tests, age, weight, habits didn't predict intensity, higher intoxication and vomiting did.
"The reality? Too much alcohol causes hangovers," the researchers conclude. "Predict severity by how drunk you feel and if you vomit. Heed those warning signs."
