We've all been there; awoken from a boozy night and, while nursing a thunderous headache or resisting the urge to vomit, proclaimed: "I am never drinking again".

But do hangovers keep us sober for longer, or send us back to the bar for a hair of the dog?

Illustration: Simon Letch

According to US research conducted on a group of young, regular drinkers, the punishing effects of hangovers did little to delay their next drinking session.

"On average, the time between drinking episodes was extended by only a few hours after a hangover," said Thomas Piasecki, one of the researchers and a psychologist from the University of Missouri.