Often when you'll be having a pint with your mates, one of you will head off to the loo for a pee. Chances are, if you're stood in a queue for the loo you might hear someone warn their friend about 'breaking the seal'.
For those that don't know, it's a commonly used term for when the first time a person pees when drinking alcohol.
When you 'break the seal' with that first trip to the bathroom, legend has it that you bladder won't be able to 'seal back up' and you're doomed for a night of frequent peeing every five/ten minutes.
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Well, according to healthline, it turns out that the whole idea of breaking the seal isn't true and having a pee after a drink won't specifically have to make you run to the urinal.
Experts are said to believe that is more of a 'metal suggestion' than an actual physical need to wee.
Alcohol is a diuretic, which makes you need the toilet but it has nothing to do with your bladder getting lazy and not sealing back up.
It is said that our brain produces a hormone called antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and according to a 2010 study, alcohol suppresses ADH production, causing your body to produce more urine than usual.
The extra urine comes from the liquid you're taking in, plus your body's fluid reserves. This depleting of fluid reserves is how alcohol causes dehydration and is partly to blame for hangovers.
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When your bladder fills quickly, it puts pressure on your detrusor muscle, which is part of your bladder wall. The more pressure is on it, the more you feel like peeing.
Although the older you get might mean more trips to the bathroom, the good news is that, contrary to what you might believe, a new study claims that hangovers actually get less severe the older you get.
That goes against almost everything that you might believe, but according to the scientists behind this study it's completely true.
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Obviously, people who are younger tend to drink more and have less responsibility, but surely that must make being hanging a bit easier, right?
Well, this study found that hangovers actually get easier with age, even when you consider that older people tend not to drink as much and less frequently.
One potential reason behind this is that you simply get used to it and deal with it better.
Reduced pain sensitivity as you get older could mean that those a little longer in the tooth just perceive their morning after illness to be not as bad.
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Whereas when you're young it can feel a little bit like the world is ending, right?
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