If you typed “hangover cures” into Google, you probably found this article among an assortment of “magic” home remedies. They are often varying degrees of strange and include anything from mixing a raw egg with your OJ in the morning to eating three bananas before going to bed. Few seem to actually work. That's why I decided to ask my doctor what the scientifically proven methods of getting rid of a hangover are. Here are her four best tips:
That's why I decided to ask my doctor what the scientifically proven methods of getting rid of a hangover are. Here are her four best tips:
1. Steer clear of Aspirin
One of the most common hangover mistakes is knocking back an aspirin as soon as you wake up. Aspirin is more likely to irritate the stomach and increase nausea than other painkillers. This reaction is even worse if you take it on an empty stomach.
2. What to take instead
Paracetemol-based painkillers like Advil, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen are your friends, but you should try and eat some carbohydrate rich food before ingestion. This will make sure that the chemicals don't absorb directly into your stomach lining.
3. Water. Water. And more Water.
Put two full water bottles beside your bed before you start drinking. Drink one when you get back for the night and then drink the other when you wake up. The pre-sleep water will help your body replenish the nutrients you lost during the night and rehydrate your body while you sleep while the post-sleep water will make sure that your body can continue to replenish itself during the day. For extra nutrients, try lemon water.
The pre-sleep water will help your body replenish the nutrients you lost during the night and rehydrate your body while you sleep while the post-sleep water will make sure that your body can continue to replenish itself during the day. For extra nutrients, try lemon water.
4. Light exercise
In the not so distant past, the idea of working out to get rid of my hangover sounded as enjoyable to me as having a cat slowly scratch my eyeballs out. That task required willpower I did not even try to pretend I had. However, the exercise doesn't need to be strenuous; it just needs to get your blood flowing.
It kick starts your body into flushing the alcohol out of your system and starts alleviating that hangover. Exercise also causes your body to release endorphins, the hormones responsible for making you happy. Not to mention, the more you use this hangover cure, the more your body enjoys it.
#SpoonTip: My roommate and I will go to a stretching yoga class that is more like meditation than exercise after a night out. While this causes us to dwell on our regrets from the night before more than we might otherwise, we always experience less of a hangover than when we don't go.
The next time you wake up in the fiery depths of hangover hell, think back to this article. These hangover cures aren’t a mildly nausea-inducing list of foods to choke down, rather, they’re just what the doctor ordered