A consequence of a great night of partying and drinking is the dreaded hangover. We’ve all been there and its not easy; it actually sucks, specially if you HAVE to go to your 8:30am class! We may know a lot of remedies to cure a hangover, but it is crucial to know which are true and which can make it worse. Her Campus-UPRM has your back, we did the research so you won’t have to! Be sure to follow these 5 easy steps that wil make your next hangover less painful.
1. Eating a meal BEFORE drinking.
Eating before drinking it’s said to “absorb” the alcohol, but what your really doing is delaying the alcohol from going into the blood stream NOT restricting it. Therefore, eating before drinking will help you reduce the severity of your hangover.
2. SLEEP
Yes, it’s that simple! For most college students, sleep is a luxury, but did you know that drinking will liver the time you spend in deep sleep? Therefore, lowering the time for your entire body to get that well deserved rest. On your next night out, if you don’t have an early class, you HAVE to sleep more than the usual 8 hours for your body to feel well rested.
3. Hydrate
Alcohol acts as a diuretic- it promotes the production of urine- so I’m betting you made a lot of trips to the bathroom! Drink water to hydrate and Gatorade to make up for lost electrolytes, it may not magically cure your hangover, but it will make ease the aftermath.
4. Know what to eat the morning of the hangover
A good breakfast can do wonders. Eating potassium rich foods like bananas and kiwi will balance your bodie’s cravings for the potassium you lost the night before during all those bathroom breaks. Eggs may also help because of their cytosine contents, which help the liver breakdown the toxin acetaldehyde, a product from your fun night.
5. Half the recommended dose of pain relievers
Pain relievers will help your alleviate your headache, but it can also irritate your stomach. When experiencing a hangover only take half the normal dose.
Getting some misconceptions out of the way:
– Drinking coffee will only help you wake up and be aware that you have a hangover. It can lower your symptoms for a little while BUT the headache will be worse in a few hours.
– Drinking alcohol the morning of your hangover will only make your liver have to break more toxins, prolonging the misery. Just like coffee it may help for a little while, but when the headache comes back it will be worst.
For extra facts go see this awesome video about many misconceptions we have about alcohol.
References:
Stephens R, Grange J, Jones K, Owen L. A critical analysis of alcohol hangover research methodology for surveys or studies of effects on cognition. Psychopharmacology [serial online]. June 2014;231(11):2223-2236. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed September 17, 2014.
All gifs are taken from Tumblr.com
Resources:
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/12/31/how-to-cure-a-h…
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/health/body/head-to-toe/hangover-cures/#p…