The dreaded hangover is something that affects many students. You’re night may have been amazing, but something about the throbbing headache, dodgy feeling in your stomach, nausea, sensitivity to daylight and dehydration makes you wonder if drinking that much was really worth it. Unfortunately, nothing can completely remove your hangover, but with the correct precautions put in place your hangover can be eased to a more bearable level. Avoid reaching for cures such as drinking the morning after, also known as hair of the dog. This cure may be effective in reducing the pain in the short term but will just make the recovery take longer. Taking painkillers when arriving home and still with alcohol in your system is also bad for your body as well an ineffective. Painkillers do little to help the night before as you will be asleep when they are working their hardest.
However, there is still hope, preparing your body for the morning in other ways will help you wake up without the will to spend all day in a dark room hiding away from noise, daylight and lectures. One easy way to avoid the hangover is drinking lots of water. Alcohol dehydrates your body which is a major cause for your hangover, therefore, making sure you drink water between drinks, after drinking and when you wake up will have great results in reducing the alcohol’s effect. When coming back from a night out, however, the first thing that comes to mind may not be going to get a glass of water. For this reason, it’s a good idea to leave a bottle of water by the side of your bed before you go out. Sports drinks are also helpful in combating your hangover as these provide electrolytes which your body has lost whilst consuming alcohol.
Food is also important in the preparation and recovery of a night out. Eating a proper meal before going out will help reduce your hangover as it allows the alcohol to absorb into your body at a slower rate. In the morning, it is very important to have breakfast as it speeds up your metabolism and helps your body deal with the effects of over consumption. One infamous favourite cure is the bacon sandwich. Your body has lost many salts and sugars during the alcohol quest the night before and the carbohydrate in the bread along with the protein in the bacon helps restore these. The last tip for those lucky enough not to have a 9am lecture is sleep. Alcohol can lead to an unsettled sleep and therefore finding time for a nap during the day can boost your energy and speed up your recovery.
So, next time you are feeling the consequences of the night before don’t reach for another drink in the hope that this will be the solution to your hangover problems. Instead, rely on food and lots of water to help pull you out of the horrible hangover and allow you to get on with your day.
