Manchester ranks in the top 10 ‘most hungover’ cities in the UK this Christmas

A lot of us are partial to a tipple of two over the festive season, but it seems Manchester is taking the term ‘Merry’ Christmas to a whole new level.

But one thing’s for sure, we probably won’t be feeling too ‘merry’ the morning after.

A banging headache, waves of nausea and the room spinning around you – we’ve all been there the day after a heavy night of drinking, and it shows with the over 168,000 people searching for “hangover cure” every year in the UK alone, but even though pubs and bars around the country currently have their doors closed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, sales of alcohol in supermarkets have jumped by 22%, which suggests that more of us than ever are drinking at home.

To see which places are likely to fair the worst this Christmas, health supplement company YourZooki has taken to Google search data to find out how many people in each UK city were searching for the term “hangover cures” per year, and Manchester has come in at number three on the top 10 list.

With over 3120 annual searches, this is equal to 7.88 Mancunians searching for hangover cures per 1000 of the population.

Here’s the full top 10 list:

Rank	Location	Overall Annual Searches	Searches per 1,000 of city population
1	Newcastle	1,680	8.73
2	Leeds	3,840	8.43
3	Manchester	3,120	7.88
4	Brighton	1,080	7.77
5	Glasgow	3,840	6.49
6	Belfast	1,680	6.11
7	Edinburgh	2,520	5.14
8	Bristol	3,120	5.05
9	Portsmouth	600	4.32
10	Aberdeen	840	4.27

Well then.

It certainly sounds like we’re set to feel a little worse for wear over the coming weeks.

To help these the citizens of city hangovers though, YourZooki has also enlisted the help of nutritionist Amanda Callenberg, who has provided her top tips to curing a hangover.

Amanda says: “With Christmas being a time for celebrations and indulgence, many of us consume a bit too much alcohol over the festive period, often leading to unpleasant hangovers with symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, dry mouth, nausea and vomiting – which none of us wants to experience over Christmas time.

“Although alcohol is perfectly safe to enjoy in moderate amounts, it does contain the toxic chemical ethanol – a diuretic which means it helps our body to get rid of fluids – and when we become severely dehydrated, our bodies can’t remove these toxins, so they stay circulating in our bodies.

“It is this dehydration that causes such classic hangover symptoms.

“The best way to avoid a hangover over the Christmas period is to know your limits and limit how much alcohol you drink in one sitting, however, we all know how hard this can be when there is an unlimited supply of prosecco in the kitchen, so other ways you can lessen, and possibly speed up your hangover recovery are:

1. Eat a balanced meal before you begin drinking: Include fat, protein, and carbohydrates as food in the stomach slows down the absorption of alcohol – this shouldn’t be hard over Christmas.
   
2. Hydrate: Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it causes higher levels of urination leading to dehydration, so you should drink plenty of water, before, during and the day after drinking, to keep yourself well hydrated. Aim to drink a glass of water between drinks and have at least one big glass of water before going to sleep.
   
3. Replace lost nutrients: Load up on lots of fresh fruit and vegetables the next day to give yourself a vitamin boost and replace the vital electrolytes and nutrients lost due to excess urination. Supplementing with water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and the B vitamins may also be helpful to make sure you’re replacing the vitamins lost from increased urinary excretion. Being depleted in Vitamin C can cause tiredness and fatigue, a weakened immune system, and difficulties concentrating.
   
4. Have a hearty breakfast the following day: Alcohol can inhibit glucose production causing low levels of blood sugar, so make sure you have a good hearty breakfast the next day, or a snack before bed to maintain your blood sugar levels.”