Halloween weekend during college is one of the best and worst weekends of college. People get dressed up and hit the bars, or hold house parties for a night full of dancing, drinking and meeting new and old friends. Everyone knows that college students primarily drink the heaviest this coming weekend. It’s great the night of, until you wake up the morning after hungover, unmotivated and full of regret (why did I drink so much?). We tested hangover cures advertised on Pinterest to help you have a fun and safe Halloween weekend!
1. Drinking More Alcohol (Hello, mimosas during brunch!)
This sounds great in theory. As they say, “The best way to not get hungover to never be sober.” However, once you stop drinking you return with a bigger hangover than what you had before. 2/10 do not recommend! I felt like sleeping right after and any sign of light or sound sent my head into a tailspin.
2. Drinking Copious Amounts of Coffee
Coffee is the cure to all-nighters, headaches and preps you for a long school/ work day, so of course, it should work for a hangover right? Wrong! Alcohol is known to dehydrate you, and coffee also does that. It actually gave us a worse hangover. Point? Do not drink coffee to cure a hangover. I also felt extremely thirsty afterward.
3. Taking Ibuprofen
This is probably one of the most common hangover tips! I usually take 1-2 while getting ready to go out to prepare ahead of time and to ease the pain of heels. If I forget that night, then I take it the morning after as soon as I wake up with a full glass of water. Water is hydrating and the ibuprofen helps to ease the headache quickly.
4. Running
My friends think I’m crazy for doing this, but when I’m feeling really ambitious, I love to sweat out my hangover. I noticed that doing a quick 1-2 miles on the treadmill makes me feel productive, and it is proven to diminish my hangover! It’s important if you do this to drink water, have something to eat beforehand and ibuprofen!
5. Brunch!
I’m tempted to get a “Sunday’s are for brunch” flag, I just love it so much. It’s amazing because you can gather your friends and discuss the night(s) before over a carb heavy meal. Carbs, eggs, and lost nutrients like Vitamin C are great for helping to diminish a hangover. My preferred places are The Yard, The Porch, or Waffles Incaffeinated located in Southside!
6. Drinking Gingerale or Ginger Tea
Everyone knows that if you have an upset stomach, gingerale is supposed to help because of the carbonation. However, I don’t like soda or carbonation and much prefer water, so I tried ginger tea instead. 10/10 would recommend. The ginger calmed my stomach and I was getting hydrated at the same time. Plus, for some reason, the hot water made me feel better – like how you eat hot soup when you are sick.
7. Eating lots of sugar
There’s a rumor that sugary fruit or hard candy will make your hangover go away because it replaces the sugar high from alcohol. However, eating jolly ranchers made me feel more sick and my headache got worse! Definitely did not replenish me at all.
8. Eating Bagels
Complex carbs are supposed to “soak up” the alcohol and lessen its effects. That’s not actually how it works though. The alcohol prevents the liver from making glucose, so the loss of sugar makes you feel faint. Complex carbs (not simple sugars) counteract this and allow your liver to make glucose again. I get really bad stomachaches when I’m hungover, so eating bagels didn’t really help me – they actually made me sick.
9. Eating Bananas
I LOVE BANANAS. When my stomach isn’t killing me after a night out, I definitely eat a ton of them. The potassium helps prevent feeling shaky and faint, and also helps me not feel as anxious. Bananas are like my best friends after drinking!
10. Taking Pepto Bismol
I felt like this should work, especially since my stomach is always upset the morning after! But the taste and texture of liquid Pepto Bismol just made me want to gag. Now, I carry a travel-size smoothie pill, so when I stay over at a friend’s house (Don’t drink & drive!!) I have something that tastes good and counteracts my hurting stomach. I definitely don’t mind the chalkiness of the pill!
So, if you’re going to go out for Halloweekend, make sure to plan ahead! Definitely go to brunch, but don’t have those bottomless Mimosas at The Yard or drink coffee. Also, drinking a ton of water and Gatorade (Replenish those electrolytes!) and making the day after a rest day is common knowledge and definitely a must for keeping your hangover at bay.
Photo Credit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11