Water, water, everywhere, so drink it ALL!
It’s pretty common knowledge that alcohol dehydrates you. So the more water you drink before, during, and after drinking, the better you’ll feel. And if you’re in the frame of mind to put a giant glass of water next to your bed before you crash, your morning-after self will thank you. Hydration, hydration, friends!
Pound those electrolytes
While water does a lot, some more electrolytes can go a long way, so feel free to stock up on Gatorade and Powerade (is that stuff even around anymore?) before your next night out. They’ll help replenish the electrolytes that were messed up by the lactic acid and other chemicals that were produced as your body was breaking down the alcohol. Plus, they’re tasty and make you feel like you’re in a Nike commercial.
Burnt toast actually has some scientific backing
Burnt toast is more than just a home remedy your mom used to give you when you had a stomach ache. Carbon in the burnt sections can help filter impurities (which is why doctors use a charcoal-based mixture to “pump” the stomachs of those with alcohol poisoning). Also, complex carbohydrates like bread will help boost your blood sugar and restore some of that strength you need to get off the couch.
AVOID coffee!
Though many of us reach for the Keurig as soon as our eyes open, caffeine is actually your enemy when you have a hangover. Though it’ll help wake you up and may make you feel better short-term, it will actually continue to dehydrate your already water-deprived body, and will upset your bowels (ew) even more. Seriously, the quick caffeine kick isn’t worth it.
Get your potassium back
After you “break the seal,” you usually make pretty frequent trips to the bathroom during a night of drinking. And during these trips, you’re losing a lot of your body’s potassium. So when you’re able to stomach solid food again, try boosting your potassium back up by grabbing a banana, avocado, orange (or orange juice), or even potato chips!
Stay away from the medicine cabinet
Same deal as coffee – though it will cure the headache for a bit, Aleve, Tylenol, and Advil will only worsen your already beleaguered stomach. Try to stay away from the chemical stuff and stick to your natural vitamins to help ease the pain. You can even reach for a bottle of Alka-Seltzer to help neutralize stomach acid and settle a queasy stomach, but drugs with ibuprofen or acetaminophen will hurt more than help.
Snarf down some sugary goodness
Ideally, this takes the form of fruit or fruit juice, as the fructose in them is critical to help replenish what you lost while your body was trying to restore itself. The Oreos and ice cream may taste better, but the processed stuff is no match for the power of the natural sugar. Either way, make sure you get your blood sugar back up, and you may be able to open your eyes all the way again.
Sweat it out
Yes, it’s horribly difficult and you feel like passing out or throwing up the whole time (or both). But whether you head to the gym or sit in a steam shower or sauna, you’ll start sweating out toxins and rid your body of some of the poison you drank – well, it’s not actually poison but it definitely feels like it at this point. If you start feeling really dizzy, take a break to cool down, but if you can push through, you’ll definitely feel like a new person when you’re done.
Get back into bed
Since you were probably going to do this anyway, this is an easy suggestion to follow. Sleep is one of the best solutions for a hangover, as not only does your body have more time to break down the toxins, but it does it while you’re unconscious so you don’t have to bear witness to it! Also, when you go to sleep after drinking a ton, your REM cycles are disturbed and you’re brain doesn’t get the chance to properly restore itself. If you wake up and get some of the above suggestions into your system, you’ll be able to slip into a deeper, more restorative sleep. Unless it’s a weekday, in which case you’re just in for a brutal day at the office.
If all else fails, try some hair of the dog that done bit you
This is not scientifically proven and is most likely not recommended by doctors. However, most of us who have tried it know that hangovers only exist when you’re sober. So if you change that…
*Remember that you will eventually have to stop drinking, so it may be in your best interest to just get the hangover out of the way. Plus it can lead to abuse and dependency issues. So take this suggestion with a very large grain of salt.
