Many of us drinkers have experienced that next day onset of a classic hangover. Some nausea, headache, dizziness, and sensitivity from noise and light—no wonder we don’t want to get up from bed! We want to feel better as quickly as possible, so we search for “hangover cures” that can make us feel instantly better. But do all these cures actually deliver? When it comes to relieving a hangover, it’s best to look into remedies backed by hard evidence, some of which may actually seem like a “magical” solution while others are just clear myths. Let’s debunk a few of those now:
Cure #1: Chug Water Before Bed
After a night of drinking, calling it quits and heading to bed may be your first instinct, especially if you’re feeling the effects of alcohol. This, however, is the same as asking for a painstaking hangover the next morning. This occurs because hangover symptoms are a result of dehydration of your body. Since alcohol is a diuretic, it actually increases urine production, and if you do not rehydrate, your body will let you know it is suffering the following day. It is scientifically proven that drinking water before bed can deter the symptoms of a hangover the next morning. So, if once you have returned from a night of drinking, make sure to chug some water before snoozing. And if you forget, grab a bottle of water and drink all of it, even if you’re body is in pain (it’ll thank you later). Not hydrating yourself will only worsen your symptoms, so always drink water!
Cure #2: Pop a Hangover Pill
To keep your body healthy and functioning, it is important that you consume a continuous intake of essential nutrients. In addition to water, diuretics also cause your body to expel a multitude of nutrients, the lack of which factors into the hangover symptoms you feel the next day. Luckily there are pills out there that contain all the necessary nutrients and supplements that replenish your system and detox your body after a night of drinking. These hangover prevention pills contain essential vitamins such as vitamins B1, B6, B12, C and E, as well as many other antioxidants that counteract the toxic byproducts that alcohol leaves in your body once it’s metabolized. There are also traces of tree extracts commonly used in East Asian medicine to fight the effects of alcohol on top of compounds that strengthen the liver to help restore your natural glutathione levels, which prevents damage on the cellular liver. All of these supplements work together to reduce hangover symptoms like nausea, dizziness, and headaches.
Cure #3: Go Out to Brunch
Having the “drunchies” is definitely a thing when consuming alcohol. After a night out, you crave a big, greasy meal like a burger and fries. As it turns out, there’s actually a scientific reason behind those cravings. Cysteine, an amino acid commonly found in greasy foods like bacon and eggs, helps fight acetaldehyde, a toxic chemical product produced when your body metabolized alcohol. Acetaldehyde is actually the compound that causes much of the hangover symptoms you experience like nausea, vomiting, and increased heart rate. So after a Saturday night of drinking, why not go for Sunday brunch the next morning?
Cure #4: Take a Nap
Do you find yourself waking up early and not feeling well after a night of drinking? Well, research shows that consuming alcohol actually reduces the duration and quality of sleep. Your body needs this rest to fight off hangover symptoms, which can worsen dramatically if you’re not finding time to sleep after a night of drinking. Resting allows your body to accelerate the healing processes of your body that help with clearing your body of the toxic byproducts produced by alcohol. Because sleeping after a night of drinking can be difficult the next morning, taking a nap during the daytime or sleeping early the following night can help cure you of your hangover symptoms.
Cure #5: Don’t Drink for at Least 24 Hours
The “hair of the dog” remedy is a common saying that tells you that drinking more alcohol the next day will make you feel better. Although we’d like to believe that our bodies have this inhuman strength, this is nothing more than a mere myth. Your body is not invincible and needs time to rest and restore its strength. Alcohol causes significant damages to your vital organs, especially the liver, so it’s important that they are able to repair themselves before you put more alcohol into your system.