OK ladies, in case you were wondering how the men in your life can carry on the day after a party while you feel that even pushing the brew button on your Keurig is a task, we now have an answer. Estrogen blocks the hangover-preventing effects of melatonin, a hormone produced while you sleep. Bottom line: men are better at sleeping it off.
In a neat little study, reseachers in Buenos Aires were able to show that motor skills post alcohol bender were improved for male mice--and female mice that lacked estrogen--by pre-gaming with the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin. Female mice with estrogen did not receive any benefit from the melatonin, the researchers explain, because estrogen blocks the uptake of melatonin.