Each week, most college students look forward to some weekend partying in order to meet new friends and temporarily relieve the stress of homework deadlines. But before you down that next rum and coke, maybe you should stop and think about tomorrow. Obviously, no one likes being hung-over; waking up feeling sick to your stomach, nauseous, exhausted, and irritable ruins your entire day. So how do you cure the common hangover? While so called “cures” aren’t yet available, there are a few remedies on hand to ease your pain.
A large part of why people become hung over is because they’re dehydrated. So with that in mind, before going to bed, drink a few glasses of water. Waking up a few times in the middle of the night to use the bathroom is a small price to pay compared to leaning over the toilet the next morning. Keep drinking a lot of water throughout the next day, as well.
A common mistake many people make is to drink coffee, or caffeinated soda, or energy drinks when they are hung over. Caffeine can definitely initially feel like it’s helping to alleviate your symptoms, but, in actuality if you are dehydrated, caffeine is one of the worst things for you. So instead drink hydrating, low-acid juices (try a green juice) or non-caffeinated teas instead.
Take a trip to your local drug store – it will have some useful products for you. Pain relievers DO help. Advil, aspirin, ibuprofen, whatever it takes! Take two every four hours for your headache. Also, try taking an Alka-Seltzer; Alka-Seltzer contain sodium bicarbonate (AKA baking soda), which will help calm down that queasy stomach of yours by neutralizing stomach acid.
Sleep, sleep, oh yeah…SLEEP! The more you sleep, the better the chance you’ll be less crabby and exhausted the following morning. However, the catch-22 with alcohol and sleep is that drinking negatively impacts your sleep cycle. Sure, a few drinks helps you fall asleep, but it impairs sleep during the second half of the night, which results in multiple awakenings, vivid dreams, sweating and general activation. So your best bet for a hangover is to try to catch a nap during the next afternoon if possible.
Everyone has heard that drinking more is the best cure for a hangover, but alcohol the next morning is probably the worst thing for a hangover. You’ll only feel better because you’re adding more alcohol to your system, so you’ll become drunk again. But once you start to sober up, you’ll feel worse than before! So pour those mojitos down the drain (until next weekend) and get some good nutrients into you!
Speaking of nutrients, a greasy breakfast makes a huge difference. After a night of drinking, your digestive system is under a lot of strain, so a good helping of bacon, eggs, sausage and bagels will make your hangover a little less miserable, and many people vouch by it. Of course, this fatty meal contains a lot of calories. But eggs and meat are high in the amino acid, cysteine, which is apparently good for cleaning out toxins in your body. Depending on how much your stomach hurts, though, bland foods such as crackers and toast may be your best option.
Going to the gym is one of the best things for a hangover. Since your body is full of toxins, the best thing to do is to sweat the toxins out! So hit the treadmill, but take it slow. Pick a steady pace and you’ll start sweating almost immediately.
Other than the basic hangover cures, like sleep and Advil, there are some other ones that are a little on the stranger side. Apparently, a mixture of plain Greek yogurt, water and salt is supposed to be excellent. Why would anyone drink this? Although this combo sounds disgusting, it causes a chemical state that helps you hydrate. Because hangovers are primarily from dehydration, you need to do whatever you can to replenish. Try throwing it in the blender so it mixes up well.
One of the weirder hangover cures out there is to drink 64 ounces of lemon-lime Gatorade before bed; not before you go out, not when you wake up in the morning, but before you go to bed you have to drink the entire bottle! And don’t put it in the fridge—it’s (apparently) extremely difficult to drink so much cold Gatorade in one sitting. Just leave it on your pillow, so you don’t forgot to drink it, and chug it before you pass out. Apparently, the high-fructose corn syrup that makes Gatorade sweet also offsets the chemical in your brain that tells your full—this way, you’ll be able to drink the entire bottle and be very hydrated before going to bed. It must be lemon-lime Gatorade though. Why? Because if you throw up, it won’t stain.
In actuality, the best hang over cure is not to get too drunk to begin with. Although we all love the initial feeling of pure inhibited tipsy that alcohol produces, no one likes the sensation of being too sloppy-drunk or the aftermath. So if you’re 21, drink responsibility, hydrate, get enough sleep – and you’l