Want to avoid a hangover? You might have to simply drink less alcohol to do that.

But University of Michigan research also indicates the drink of choice might have a lot to do with how severely a person experiences the typical symptoms of a hangover.

Researchers from both U-M Medical School and Boston University School of Public Health found that - controlling for both sleep and alcohol consumption - bourbon gives a worse hangover than vodka.

The science behind it, Time reported, is in the fermenting process to produce the alcohol, which also produces byproducts called congeners. The concentration of congeners may be the reason for awful hangover symptoms in the morning. Bourbon has about 37 times the amount of congeners than vodka.

Researchers paid nearly 100 men and women to go out drinking to ensure they were acclimated to the alcohol. Participants were given drinks with either bourbon or vodka until they reached a blood alcohol content level of 0.11. The next evening, participants were given the same amount to drink, but with a non-alcoholic drink to act as a placebo.

Participants drinking bourbon reported much worse hangovers. However, even after all participants returned to blood alcohol levels of 0.0, drinkers of either alcohol reported similar levels of impairment of tasks.

Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.