Alcohol is the elixir of the elite, the drink of the gods, the beverage to relax with after a day of working. It is also the cause for the worst possible feeling in the morning, a hangover. When you decide to overindulge at happy hour with the 4 for 1 drink specials you may find yourself in some serious discomfort the next day. Before we get into some ways to alleviate this abysmal feeling, let us first look at what a hangover is.
This is not medical or health advise! We are not health professionals! This article is for entertainment purposes only!
The short text version is that this is your body’s reaction to drinking too much alcohol depending on your tolerance level. Alcohol itself acts as a diuretic which means you will become dehydrated while drinking it and use the bathroom a lot. Like a lot.
When alcohol enters your bloodstream, it signals your pituitary gland to stop producing a hormone called vasopressin, which when present will keep your body hydrated. Without it all of the moisture in your body gets sent to your bladder and you will feel the need to relieve yourself many times throughout the evening.
The dehydration caused by this is a big part of the hangover, but wait there’s more. When your body metabolizes alcohol, our liver creates an extremely toxic substance called acetaldehyde. This is nothing to worry about as your body contains enzymes to that break down this chemical.
But, when you drink too much your body can’t process the amount of the chemical being produced and it causes some problems for you. After this gets past the point of processing in your system, you are left with a flushed face, headache, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, weakness, blurred vision, mental confusion and sweating. All of which are the tell all signs of a hangover and day spent moving slowly.
Luckily for those of us who have a chronic overindulgence of these beverages, there are signs of hope at the end of the dark and nauseas tunnel. Over the years people have developed homemade concoctions and ideas to relieve their bodies of the turmoil inside and break out into the rest of the world. Mentioned below are some of those tips and tricks:
- Eat a good breakfast
Eating a hearty meal is the most well-known cure for a hangover. It will help boost your blood sugar levels which will make you feel better overall. You will also return necessary minerals and vitamins that your body will need to recover fully. Some say that a greasier breakfast helps as well. Bacon, sausage, eggs cooked in bacon grease, all things that absorb the alcohol and lessen the blow of the hangover.
- Sleep
Drinking a lot of alcohol before going to bed can cause disturbances. You will suffer a worse sleep while drinking than you would not drinking. So, when the lovely sun comes a shining, you will not be bright eyed and bushy tailed. Something you can do is to take a nap or go to bed earlier the following day to make up for the lack of sleep received.
- Hydration
Drink water. Drink water. Drink water. Alcohol will cause dehydration which will make you feel absolutely dreadful in the morning. The best and easiest thing to do when hungover is to drink water. Don’t drink so much at a time that you’ll feel worse, but just enough to regroup. Your body will thank you later.
- Avoid caffeine
Drinking coffee may seem like a good idea, a little pick me up in the morning. In reality, caffeine is also a diuretic. This can only worsen your dehydration and cause more problems during your recovery. Something you can drink as an alternative would be sweetened tea. The sugar will compensate for the lack of caffeine and give you the necessary boost to start your day.
- Deal with the nausea
There are a variety of ways to go about this. Some stand by the “pull the trigger” method which is causing yourself to throw up. Now this will deal with the nausea in full, but could make you feel worse after and cause mild discomfort to your throat. You can deal with nausea by ingesting Alka-Seltzer or other effervescent tablet in a glass of water. You can also drink some ginger tea or even ginger ale if that’s not available. In Eastern Europe, it is not uncommon to drink pickle juice. This salty brine surprisingly works as well but may not sit well with some users.
- Hair of the Dog
Not referring to actual dog hair, this one is backwards feeling than the rest. When you wake up and have a hangover from drinking, you can just pour yourself another. This will not cure the hangover, but delay its effects until you can properly deal with them. Something like a bloody Mary or mimosa that blends vitamins and alcohol could be a good choice. One thing I do not recommend is making a habit of this or doing this before you have to drive, work, or interact in society.
- Exercise
Get out of bed and go outside. The fresh air can help not only your hangover but your overall health. This isn’t the end all e all cure, but it can help get your body back into its natural rhythm and get your metabolism back in order. You don’t need to go P90X and burn all the calories left in your body, a simple walk in the park or easy bike ride is enough.
- Limit the amount you drink
The easiest thing you can do to reduce your hangover is to limit the amount of alcohol you ingest. If you go out to the bar with your friends knowing full well you will only drink 3 drinks then your hangover will be significantly decreased than those who go out and drink till the sun returns. Not drinking excessively is better for you in many different ways than when you binge.
Hangovers are an uncomfortable awakening after a fun night out with your friends. After essentially poisoning yourself for hours at end all evening your body retaliates by causing a painful headache and nausea. Thankfully, there are people out there who have experienced this and experimented with ways to fix their pain. You will have to test out which ways work best for you, which means