How To Avoid A Hangover

How To Avoid A Hangover
by PartyFan


There are lots of remedies for hangovers floating around, everyone seems to have their favorite. Some work better than others. There are many disadvantages to the cures, such as the usage of OTC painkillers which recommend against mixing with alcohol because of the potential for liver problems, but the main reason all these cures suck is they all depend on one thing (which you would rather not have to deal with): you have to have a hangover in the first place in order to cure one. None of these cures are instantaneous, which means you have to suffer until the remedy kicks in. Prevention is a much better solution. If you never get hungover, you won't need a remedy, and you won't suffer the agony of waiting for the remedy to take effect.

So, how do you prevent getting hungover? We will ignore the obvious solutions like don't drink in the first place, or drink in moderation only, since these aren't going to apply to people who are searching for a hangover cure. If you need to know about cures, you are unlikely to avoid behavior that leads to the need for cures, aren't you? If you feel the need to overdo it, telling you not to isn't much help.

So, here is the solution. To oversimplify things a hangover is mostly caused by dehydration: the alcohol leeches water from your system, and in response to the lack of it the body steals it from wherever it can be found, including the brain. So to avoid the hangover, avoid the dehydration. First, try to avoid things that make the dehydration worse, like heavily sweet drinks with loads of sugar. Second, try to drink some water on the side while you are imbibing. This isn't always possible or desirable, but if you can do it without discomfort or displeasure, a plain glass of water in place of every third drink, or a large glass to be sipped at and refilled constantly will improve your odds of skipping out on that crushing headache.

Then, the final trick. Before you go to sleep, or pass out, drink up. Water. Lots of it. Or even better, your favorite electrolyte sports drink. A quart, don't skimp. More if you can reasonably hold it. Now you will most likely have to wake up to pee because of this, when you do, each and every time you wake up, drink some more water or sports drink. A pint the first time, an eight ounce glass after that. You will have to experiment with the exact amounts for your body type, but if you put enough fluids in, you won't dehydrate, and you won't get hungover. That doesn't mean you can drink to the point of poisoning yourself, alcohol is still nasty stuff to be treated with respect, but amounts that had you happy the night before and suffering the morning after will have that morning after edge smoothed considerably.

Your Mileage May Vary, but most everyone that has used this trick has sworn that it works wonderfully.