Waking up with a hangover is never fun. When you’re young, you likely have less of the experience and good judgement you need to avoid a bad hangover, and as you get older the consequences for not avoiding that hangover get worse and last longer.
Today we’re taking a look at a simple survival guide for when you wake up after over-indulging, so you’ll know what to to get back on your feet.
Preparation
The most important thing you can do is prepare. The worst hangovers happen when you don’t just drink too much, but when your body is unprepared for what you’re about to do to it.
Eating a solid meal before (or as) you start partying can help: carbohydrates, fat and protein all help to slow the rate at which your body absorbs alcohol, and for avoiding a hangover, slow and steady is definitely better.
Alcohol is a diuretic: this means it makes your body shed water. You sweat more and you pee more when you’ve been drinking, and this is the cause of most of the classic hangover symptoms. When you’re trying to avoid a hangover water is your strongest ally. Drink water between each alcoholic drink, and make sure you have a pint glass by your bedside when you get home.
The Day After
There are two things making you feel bad when you have a hangover: dehydration and the toxins your body generates by breaking down alcohol - in the short term they make you feel worse before you get better!
Treat dehydration seriously: water may not be enough. A sports drink or rehydration tablet will not help rebalance your fluid levels, they’ll also boost the minerals and salts you lost as well, and help you feel better faster. Sports drinks also include glucose which can help you stop feeling trembly.
The faster your body deals with those toxins, the better you’ll feel. You might not be up to a full workout, but even getting out of bed for a walk can help to stimulate your metabolism and help your liver process the chemicals that are making you feel bad more quickly. It might be worth taking some painkillers to deal with your headache and muscle pain until the results of your efforts at rehydration and stimulating your metabolism can kick in.
Finally, while it’s a myth that a fried breakfast can help you recover from a hangover chemically, you’ll likely feel better if you’re able to eat something: it’ll help replenish your body’s energy supplies, as well as those vital electrolytes.
These are very good points! I used to drink a sports drink like Gatorade, because I felt so dehydrated! If I didn’t eat something, I would feel nauseated, so good point! I don’t like the “Hershey’s squirts!” So many things to recoup from one night on the town 🤪
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