Hangovers are the unpleasant aftermath of a drinking spree. The symptoms strike hardest once the alcohol has left your body, with headache, fatigue, nausea, weakness, and dizziness being the most common symptoms. In severe cases, one should visit institutions such as the NAD Treatment San Diego, for specialized care.
Everyone wants to enjoy a night of drinking without having to feel terrible the following day. In this article, we will discuss some evidence-based tricks one can apply to minimize the severity of a hangover.
Do Not Drink On an Empty Stomach
Though no one wants to feel bloated before a night out, ensure you are full. Experts warn when drinking on an empty stomach, the alcohol passes directly to the intestines and is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream.
Consequently, you will feel drunk faster and feel even worse the following day. Drinking on a full stomach ensures your blood alcohol levels remain low, reducing the severity of your hangover.
The meal before a drinking spree should be high in fats and fiber. Fatty foods delay the absorption of alcohol, while fiber breaks down and absorb the alcohol, so it does not swiftly reach your bloodstream.
Drink in Moderation
The best way to prevent a hangover is to avoid alcohol at all costs. However, if one must indulge, they should drink in moderation. That is because the more a person drinks, the more severe symptoms they will experience the following day.
Research shows the average person processes one standard drink every hour. With this information at hand, ensure you pace yourself when drinking. Slow drinking will also reduce the overall amount of alcohol you consume. That way, you are less likely to suffer a severe hangover the following day.
Drinking in moderation also involves sticking to one type of drink. This way, you are more likely to keep track of what you are drinking and are less likely to upset your stomach.
Keep Off Drinks High In Congeners
Congeners are chemical by-products of fermentation that give liquor its color and flavor. These are impurities metabolized the following day, further worsening your hangover symptoms.
Typically, the darker the drink, the higher the congeners. Thus opt for lighter colored drinks such as vodka and gin. Most importantly, the more expensive the alcohol is, the more filtered it is and, therefore, lesser congeners and a milder hangover.
Stay Active When Drinking
Dancing or playing games such as the pool or ping pong facilitate the breakdown of the alcohol you are consuming. As a result, the hangover will be less unpleasant the following day.
Therefore, ensure you stay active as you drink. Just be sure to have a glass of water by your side as you engage in your activities, especially if it involves breaking a sweat.
Drink Plenty of Water
Alcohol is a diuretic; it increases urine production leaving you dehydrated and feeling terrible the following morning. As you guzzle the hard stuff, ensure you alternate it with water. It helps you stay hydrated for a less severe hangover.
Also, ensure water is your top priority the following morning. However, ensure you chug down the water in moderation. Experts warn that too much water can stress your body. Besides, frequent bathroom breaks disrupt your sleep leaving you tired and fatigued the flowing day. In case your oral intake fails to meet your body demands, visit specialized clinics such as Livv Natural, to receive IV hydration and hangover therapies.
Drink not more than two glasses of water before retiring to sleep. Then leave a full glass of water on the nightstand, just in case you wake up feeling thirsty.
Avoid Carbonated Drinks
Studies show carbonation expands the stomach, increasing the surface area for alcohol absorption. Please do yourself a favor and keep off drinks such as champagne and tonic water, as their bubbles facilitate alcohol absorption.
Have a Heavy Breakfast
Alcohol tends to cause low blood sugar levels, which worsen the hangover. The first thing on your mind after a night of drinking should be a heavy breakfast. If possible, ensure your breakfast contains eggs, carbohydrates, and veggies.
Eggs are rich in N-Acetyl-Cysteine, an enzyme that helps breakdown any remaining alcohol in your body. Vegetables, particularly spinach, are high in Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA), which further helps rid your body of the toxic metabolites of alcohol.
On the other hand, carbohydrates help absorb any alcohol left in your stomach, provide glucose, and minimize nausea. Fruit juice is also a perfect choice for breakfast. Fructose, the sugar in fruit, helps burn alcohol while restoring one’s blood sugar levels.
Do not make the mistake of including herbal teas in your breakfast. Research shows herbal tea slows down the breakdown of alcohol, thus prolonging the hangover.
Have Adequate Sleep
Though sleep deprivation cannot cause a hangover, it will potentiate your hangover symptoms. Coincidentally, sleep disrupts the second part of your sleep cycle, especially if you sleep late.
A night of good quality sleep will help your body recover from the previous night’s events. Therefore, if you will not sleep early, the least you can do is sleep in for a little longer than usual. You can even slap on a sleeping mask to avoid environmental disruptions.
Avoid More Drinking the Morning After
There is a common misconception that the cure to a hangover is drinking what caused you the pain in the first place. While it may significantly minimize your symptoms, you are only delaying the inevitable.
As the alcohol leaves your system, your hangover will be worse than it would have been. Research shows that some people repeat the cycle, eventually falling victims of alcoholism.
Take a Pain-Reliever
If the headache is too much to bear, you can take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen to provide relief. NSAIDS do not upset the stomach; be careful not to overdose.
Notably, when healing from a hangover, steer off the paracetamol, a common pain reliever. Paracetamol and alcohol are liver-toxic; therefore, a combination of the two may prove fatal.
Conclusion
Experts advise that there is no way to prevent a hangover, other than to keep away from alcohol. The good thing is that if you cannot stay away from alcohol, the above tricks can minimize the hangover symptoms.
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