Can Cold Showers Help With a Hangover?

Waking up with a pounding headache, churning stomach, and overall feeling of misery after a “few” drinks? The dreaded hangover strikes again.

After overindulging in alcohol, anything that can provide relief—even something like a rough cold shower—is worth considering. But can cold showers actually help a hangover?

A cold shower has the potential to help ease many of the related symptoms of a hangover. The body’s reaction to cold water can boost your mood, fight fatigue, distract from nausea, and reduce inflammation, a major cause of discomfort associated with hangovers.

It is very important that you DO NOT get into cold water while still intoxicated or when you are still drunk—and not in the hangover phase. This is because alcohol lowers your core body temperature, and any additional drop in temperature could put you at high risk for hypothermia.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how a cold shower can be a good addition to a hangover care routine. It is also important to hydrate, get a healthy snack, and get more rest if possible, as these and time will be your best options.

How Cold Showers Can Help With Hangovers

When you understand what is happening in your body during a hangover, it becomes easier to see how something as simple as a cold shower can provide relief for some symptoms.

Alcohol puts your body through quite an ordeal, from dehydration and inflammation to toxic byproducts and disrupted circulation.

Let’s take a closer look at five major ways exposure to cold water can help to counteract these alcohol-induced changes in the body when you are hungover.

1. Helps Reduce Inflammation

When we drink alcohol, it causes widespread inflammation in our bodies, which is a major contributor to that miserable hungover feeling. The alcohol gets broken down into acetaldehyde and other toxic chemicals that damage our cells, and inflammation is part of the immune system’s reaction to harm. Our immune cells see this cellular damage as an attack and release inflammatory molecules called cytokines to defend and repair.

However, this immune response ends up overreacting, leading to excessive inflammation. The cytokines can make blood vessels leaky and create pressure which activates pain nerves. This can contribute to a variety of pain—including headaches, nausea, and fatigue.

A cold shower can help tame this inflammatory response in a few different ways. First, the cold water causes the blood vessels right under the skin to constrict. This diverts blood flow away from the surface towards the core. After getting out of the cold shower, the blood vessels then dilate, increasing circulation. This improved circulation helps flush out inflammatory toxins.

Research [1] has proven that exposure to cold water can raise the levels of norepinephrine, which has been suggested [2] to have some anti-inflammatory properties. Cold water also triggers the vagus nerve to release acetylcholine and stimulates the release of cortisol and adrenaline, which all can help with excessive inflammation.

2. Helps Fight Nausea

Alcohol’s irritating effects on the stomach and intestines, along with the production of stomach acid, which delays stomach emptying, promote inflammation in the stomach and intestines. This irritation and inflammation, as well as dehydration, contribute to nausea-inducing signals being sent to the brain and can keep that dreaded nausea around for quite some time.

There is some research to show cold water stimulation has the potential to calm nausea symptoms in several ways. One study [3] suggests cold temperature can activate the vagus nerve, which sends signals to the brain that work to relieve feelings of nausea. The vagus nerve controls several body functions, including digestion, and stimulating it is thought to help settle the stomach.

The sensory input from the cold water can also provide a distraction from the nausea, taking the mind off the unpleasant sensations. The previously mentioned anti-inflammatory effects can also alleviate nausea originating from inflammatory conditions. Cold showers may help reduce this anticipatory anxiety of nausea by promoting relaxation.

3. Recovery From Fatigue

One popular misconception is that alcohol can help your sleep, but even though alcohol makes it easier to fall asleep at first, studies [4] have shown that it interrupts regular sleep cycles. This broken sleep leaves you feeling tired the next day, adding to the plethora of fatigue-inducing factors like inflammation and dehydration felt while hungover.

Sometimes even with hangover fatigue, you still may still have to get to work or just get on with the day, and some cold water therapy may be just the trick to get you going. Cold showers may help specifically help counteract hangover fatigue by activating the sympathetic nervous system and releasing hormones like dopamine, endorphins, adrenaline, and noradrenaline.

Adrenaline and noradrenaline are released in the body, resulting in increased blood flow, alertness, and glucose production, which can provide some energy. Dopamine and endorphins both have the potential to help block pain and lift mood.

For a bit more recovery help, it is believed [5] that noradrenaline and adrenaline can indirectly help support or speed the metabolism of alcohol. Adrenaline and noradrenaline optimize conditions for alcohol metabolism by improving alcohol delivery, providing other energy sources, and increasing the activity of alcohol-metabolizing enzymes in the liver.

4. Can Relieve Headaches

Alcohol acts as a diuretic, meaning it causes the body to lose more fluid than normal. This dehydration causes the brain to shrink away from the skull slightly, which stretches and inflames the meninges (lining of the brain), causing headache pain.

Blood vessels also dilate and relax after alcohol consumption, and the widening of blood vessels allows more blood to flow, putting pressure on nerve endings and causing throbbing head pain. Additionally, alcohol contains congeners – toxic byproducts from fermentation. Congeners can irritate blood vessels and trigger inflammation, leading to vascular headaches.

Taking a cold shower can provide at least temporary relief from a headache caused by a hangover in several ways. One study [6] shows that cold water therapy was effective at slowing sensory nerve conduction velocity (NCV) which slows pain reception. The cold temperature initially constricts dilated blood vessels which can possibly increase pain temporarily but help increase circulation after, which can reduce the pain.

Finally, cold showers are thought to release endorphins—natural pain-relieving hormones. This can quickly reduce headache pain and provide a sense of euphoria. In other words, with a risk of initial shock and pain, cold showers can counteract several alcohol-induced headache factors, possibly supporting hangover relief.

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5. Can Help You Sleep

When all is said and done, the most effective treatment for a hangover, besides hydration, is just time and rest. That said, if it is an option, you may want to try to nap your hangover away. Besides battling inflammation and nausea, which can help you rest, cold showers may aid you in the quest for better quality sleep.

While a cold blast will initially give a boost by making you more alert, there is research [7] that shows the cold can stimulate the circadian neurons, effectively helping boost your circadian rhythm. This could possibly help with the interruptions and negative effects alcohol has on your sleep cycle.

Another study [8] also suggests that the reduction of the core temperature, which can result from a cold shower, provided an increase in melatonin levels tested within 90 following minutes. Melatonin is a hormone released by the pineal gland that is believed to help regulate sleep and better sleep quality.

To summarize, cold water exposure could give you enough boost to take care of a little business, like some self-care, but then also promote some good quality rest afterward.

Risk of Taking a Cold Shower While Hungover

With proper precautions, a short cold shower can provide hangover relief. But it’s crucial to monitor your body’s response carefully when already in a compromised state from alcohol’s effects.

Here are a few dangers to consider before using a cold shower for a hangover:

• Hypothermia: You should never subject yourself to cold exposure in any form while intoxicated. There is a risk of hypothermia with a cold water shower, or cold immersion, and this risk increases greatly while under the influence of alcohol as your core body temperature is already lowered.
• Disorientation: If you are dizzy, lightheaded, or have impaired coordination, you will not want to stand and risk falling or slipping in the shower. Consider sitting or kneeling in the shower with your hand at the ready to stop the cold flow if necessary.
• Further Dehydration: Vasoconstriction places additional strain on the cardiovascular system, and with your body trying to heat up, you can sweat as a natural response. This can contribute to water and electrolyte imbalances associated with dehydration. However, this may be counteracted with extra hydration beforehand.
• Could Worsen Headache: Headaches can have complex causes, some of which still aren’t fully understood. There’s always a chance a shower, no matter the temperature of the water, could worsen a headache or migraine.

How Long of a Cold Shower For Hangover Relief

To stay safe during a hangover, limit cold exposure to a brief period of 2-3 minutes, and make sure someone is available nearby in case you need assistance. Don’t make the water too cold – around 60°F or 16°C is plenty cold to receive the benefits of the shock. Start slow and see just how your body handles slightly uncomfortable cold water temperatures.

Avoid total body immersion in a cold bath when intoxicated, as this drastically cools the core and could lead to hypothermia. End your cold exposure immediately if you are experiencing severe headaches, changes in vision, chest pain, breathing problems, or muscle cramping.

Is a Hot or Cold Shower Better For a Hangover?

The temperature of your shower is a personal preference based on how your mind and body feel. However, a cold shower will generally be better for a hangover because it is better at fighting fatigue and nausea and results in less fluid loss. If you want a deeper clean, you can use hot water first and finish off with cold water during the same shower.

When you take a hot or cold shower with a hangover, you will want to hydrate before and after the shower. Fluid loss is greater with a hot shower, but a cold shower can make you sweat when you are done. During a shower, water is not absorbed and eventually evaporates.

Here are some more factors to consider when deciding whether a hot or cold shower is better when hungover:

Final Thoughts

While a cold shower is not a cure for a hangover, some research is starting to support that it can provide some relief for symptoms and pain relief and help with rest and recovery. It’s crucial to take proper safety precautions as the cold and compromised physical state brought on by alcohol consumption and dehydration can be dangerous.

Only take a brief, cool shower when you are in the hangover phase and alcohol has cleared your system. Hydrate before and after the shower, and complement the cold water therapy with rest, hydration, and time for your body to fully recover.

Though more research is needed, a cold shower can work when paired with other supportive care. The cold may help you get back on your feet faster after an alcohol-fueled night goes too far.

References

1. Šrámek, P., Šimečková, M., Janský, L., Šavlíková, J., & Vybíral, S. (2000). Human physiological responses to immersion into water of different temperatures. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 81(5), 436-442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004210050065
2. Hu, X. X., Goldmuntz, E. A., & Brosnan, C. F. (1991). The effect of norepinephrine on endotoxin-mediated macrophage activation. Journal of Neuroimmunology, 31(1), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-5728(91)90084-k
3. Rodgers, C., Kollar, D., Taylor, O., Bryant, R., Crockett, K., Gregurich, M. A., & Hockenberry, M. (2012). Nausea and vomiting perspectives among children receiving moderate to highly emetogenic chemotherapy treatment. Cancer nursing, 35(3), 203–210. https://doi.org/10.1097/NCC.0b013e3182281493
4. Colrain, I. M., Nicholas, C. L., & Baker, F. C. (2014). Alcohol and the sleeping brain. Handbook of clinical neurology, 125, 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-62619-6.00024-0
5. BioCyc (2023). Homo sapiens noradrenaline and adrenaline degradation pathway. Retrieved from https://biocyc.org/HUMAN/NEW-IMAGE?type=PATHWAY&object=PWY-6342
6. Herrera, E., Sandoval, M., Camargo, D., & Salvini, T. (2010). Motor and Sensory Nerve Conduction Are Affected Differently by Ice Pack, Ice Massage, and Cold Water Immersion. Physical Therapy, 90, 581 – 591. https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20090131.
7. de Goede, P., Wefers, J., Brombacher, E. C., & Schrauwen, P. (2018). Circadian rhythms in mitochondrial respiration. Journal of Molecular Endocrinology, 60(3), R115-R130. https://doi.org/10.1530/JME-17-0196
8. Robey, E., Dawson, B., Halson, S., Goodman, C., Gregson, W., & Eastwood, P. (2013). Post-exercise cold water immersion: effect on core temperature and melatonin responses. European journal of applied physiology, 113(2), 305–311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-012-2436-3