Cheers: having a hangover is good for your mental health

Today we sing the Wilhelmus and toast to the king: together but still alone.

We are not at an overcrowded orange pub. We are not swaying through the city. We are not drawing red-white-blue flags on our cheeks, not wandering through nice markets, and not eating orange tompouces at our parents' place. We are at home. It’s not a real King's Day. And 'Woningdag' is the dumbest word of 2020, I can tell you that already. But yes, because you have to do something on this April 27 and don’t want to fall completely into a deep pit, you might as well pour yourself a glass of wine this afternoon. Or two. Because a hangover isn’t that bad to have the day after.

Alcohol stimulates the production of neurotransmitters in your brain that contain happiness chemicals. Endorphins are released when drinking an alcoholic beverage and well, that stuff makes you happy. Endorphins are mood boosters. And that happy feeling tends to linger for quite a while. Luckily, because that hangover isn’t exactly pleasant, with a pounding head and a nauseous feeling in your throat. But you do feel, despite the physical ailments, quite happy.

That’s also because a hangover loosens your impulses a bit, your inhibitions, it makes you care a little less. And you don’t have to do anything now. Plan your work a day ahead, make sure you can lie completely horizontal on the couch and order a hamburger. You can do that now, because you have a hangover. So treat yourself. Get that McDonald's. Drink that milkshake. Eat that bag of chips empty. Everything is possible and allowed, because you really don’t care about anything today. That’s what the hangover does to your brain.

According to some experts, a hangover can actually make you feel ‘more alive’. You feel alive and kicking, you exist, you are here. You are doing something. Even if it’s just drinking wine with a Zoom call on your laptop with friends, but still. So. Are you already looking forward to that hangover? We are too. You might even skip the party for it. This year without any events, festivals, and parties might actually work out well. So cheers, triple, to the Woning, this year. We deserve a toast and a good, national, loud Wilhelmus. Loyal to the fatherland, isn’t it? We do this together, even if you are maybe a bit alone today on King's Day 2020 and don’t see all those others. They are also singing the national anthem.

We can do it.

Cheers, Wim-Lex. I hope to see you again next year in a busy city doing the cookie-biting.