(Express) - MOST wine drinkers nursing a bad hangover have cursed themselves for having too many glasses the night before.

But a study shows it may be the size of the wine glass that caused them to overdo it.

Drinkers helped themselves to larger servings when they had wider glasses, held them in their hands while pouring or when the colour of the glass matched the wine, researchers found.

esearchers at Iowa State and Cornell universities in the US recruited 73 students who drank at least a glass of wine a week. They were offered glasses of different sizes but told to pour the same amount each time.

The students gave themselves 11.9 per cent more wine when they had a wider glass and drank 12.2 per cent more if they held it while pouring.

Douglas Walker, co-author of the research published in Substance Use And Misuse, said: “Participants were asked to pour the same amount at each setting, but they just couldn’t tell the difference.”