No one enjoys being hungover. It’s probably one of the biggest reasons why so many people avoid drinking. There will probably never be a cure for a hangover, but there are ways to escape from having one the next day.
It’s pretty easy to research ways on how to avoid that pounding head and sensitive stomach in the morning. As I mentioned in my last post on alcohol, I’m a big believer in taking a large gulp of water before and after drinking. The most important way to avoid feeling awful is having food in your stomach before consuming alcohol. I discovered some other ways to avoid a hangover that you don’t hear as much.
Stop Earlier
I’ve noticed the earlier I stop drinking before sleeping, the better I feel the next day. I’ll go to a picnic during the day and drink my usual amount. If I stop hours before going to sleep, I’m fine the next day. If I drink the same amount and then go straight to bed, I can feel it the next day.
Electrolytes to the Rescue
I’m sure when the inventors introduced sports drinks in the 70s, they never thought it would be just as popular for the hungover. Electrolytes have been proven to help with dehydration, which is one of the biggest factors in getting hungover. Now, many people drink it before they go to bed to replace a lot of the fluids that were lost from a night of drinking.
Pedialyte has been around for 50 years. Thankfully, drinkers finally took notice that if it can help children with dehydration, it could help them when they suffer from the same affliction. When you’re done drinking, take a few swigs of this before bed. It’s not the greatest flavor but it’s better than having dry mouth and head pains in the morning. I’ve seen people who take it while they’re drinking, and to me, this would only make you consume more alcohol and make you feel worse the next day.
One of the other routines I do before going to bed to avoid a hangover is taking a cold preventer like EmergenC. Not many people know that besides b-vitamins, which are proven to help with hangovers, it also has electrolytes. This is a perfect combination to help your body return to normal after the extreme dehydration and vitamin depleted condition that you suffered while drinking. The downside is that your internal organs have already worked overtime to filter alcohol and are very sensitive. You may want to avoid introducing other elements that might put more pressure on them. I try to have food in my stomach to ease the digestive process.
Avoid Pain Relievers
I know many people take pain relievers before they go to bed to avoid any pain that comes from hangovers. I would not recommend this as for the factors mentioned before in that your organs are very sensitive and cannot handle filtering manmade products after using the same organs to filter alcohol. Pain relievers have already been linked to organ failure. If you do this long-term, you leave your body very vulnerable to problems worse than a hangover.
Next week I’ll tell you how I discovered the best way to treat a hangover.