Most of us know that even though we should try to live a healthy life, sometimes happiness has to be the no.1 priority — even if it requires you to get smashed as if there was no tomorrow. While some people claim there is no way to deal with a hangover, here is a look at 12 scientifically-proven methods that can help deal with this annoying phenomenon.
1. Alcohol often leads to dehydration, especially with beer; it tends to destroy some of the tissues in your brain, creating a painful pressure which doesn’t seem to go away. This problem can be easily taken care of by continuously drinking water through the night; drink a glass of water for each alcoholic beverage you consume.
2. You should do your best to stick with lighter drinks, in terms of actual color. Darker drinks, such as red wine or whiskey for example, have a large number of congeners, a substance that is a byproduct of fermentation and contributes to hangovers.
3. Eating something while drinking is very important as it prevents your body from absorbing a lot of alcohol straight away. Also, eating something before can actually reduce the amount of alcohol in your blood.
4. If you can afford it, you should definitely drink more expensive drinks as they tend to have less congeners. Top-shelf vodkas and gin are some examples.
5. Drinking also depletes you of your potassium, meaning you should eat some potassium-rich foods throughout the evening or before going to bed.
6. Avoid carbonated drinks. The bubbles cause alcohol to be absorbed much faster, leading to a harsher hangover.
7. It is very important for your brain to receive a good dose of blood and oxygen, which is why meditative exercises the morning of the hangover can make it go away much faster. Rest and relaxation is often all you need.
8. As most people know, regular drinking causes a certain amount of liver damage. A good way to compensate for it is to eat scrambled eggs with plenty of vegetables mixed in. This will provide your body with a good dose of taurine (a nutrient capable of minimizing liver damage) and antioxidants that open up your blood vessels, further accelerating your recuperation.
9. Because hangovers usually entail a bad case of an upset stomach, you should take the time to sip on some fresh and warm ginger tea; it has been medically proven to be effective against nausea.
10. Multivitamins have become quite popular recently, mainly due to the fact that one can take them to almost instantly give its body an influx of necessary nutrients. Seeing as how alcohol depletes your body of them, you should pop a multivitamin after to accelerate your recuperation.
11. One of the reasons you feel light-headed during a hangover is the lack of sugar in your blood, something which can be easily remedied with a glass of nutritious orange juice during breakfast. Orange juice is also rich in potassium (see #5)
12. Finally, oxygen is known to accelerate the pace at which toxins resulting from alcohol are broken down and purged, meaning getting some fresh air outdoors — perhaps even light exercise — can help your recovery.
All in all, even though it may feel like the end of the world at the moment, a hangover is far from being unbeatable. By taking the steps listed above, you are going to tremendously speed up the recovery process.
