Studies have shown that both red ginseng and Korean pear juice may help prevent hangovers or reduce symptoms. Drink plenty of water the evening of alcohol consumption and the morning after. Alcohol is a diuretic, a substance that increases the volume of urine, and dehydration contributes to hangover symptoms such as thirst and headache. Research has shown that the fruit might reduce symptoms of a hangover, including nausea and dry mouth, by inhibiting inflammation.
Staying Healthy
Some studies have found that consuming drinks high in congeners could increase the frequency and severity of hangovers. Congeners may also slow the metabolism of alcohol, which can prolong your symptoms (1). Getting food in your belly the morning after a night of imbibing can give blood sugar levels a needed boost, says Dr. Waters. But filling your already stressed stomach with greasy, heavy food isn’t the best option. Drinking lowers your blood sugar, which fuels your brain, and this could contribute to your headache.
Drugs & Supplements
While there is no absolute cure for a hangover, people can reduce the symptoms by getting plenty of sleep, drinking water, eating nutritious foods, and restoring electrolytes. While most over-the-counter hangover remedies won’t help much, there’s one supplement that may do you some good – but you’ll have to plan ahead. Korean pear (Asian pear) juice is an old-school hangover remedy.
- Hydrating yourself, and not with a Bloody Mary, is step one.
- Rehydrating the body by drinking water may help to improve the symptoms of a hangover.
- Though other chemicals in your drink – or drinks – of choice contribute to your hangover, alcohol is the primary culprit.
- If you’ve ever had a few too many drinks on a night out, you know what the next morning can bring.
- And then you wake up the next day and wish you hadn’t had such a darn good time.
- “It’s packed with electrolytes to help get your body back to normal and also contains potassium which can help your cells maintain good fluid balance.”
Eat a big breakfast
Drinking more alcohol isn’t going to undo the effects of last night’s drinking. What’s more likely to help is getting your fill of those B vitamins from foods. Additionally, heavy drinking can increase inflammation in your body. And the omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon and other fatty fish can lower that inflammatory response. Some companies use misleading advertising to claim that their products can prevent hangovers.
Health Challenges
In cases when it’s too late for abstinence, there are at least a few things that may make an individual with an alcohol-induced hangover feel a little better. Over time, the body breaks down acetaldehyde into a less-toxic acetate and the symptoms resolve. But other than waiting for that to happen, there really doesn’t seem to be a legitimate quick fix for the damage already done. While the occasional night out with cocktails can be fun, alcohol-induced hangovers are the exact opposite. Though low to moderate amounts of alcohol may initially promote sleep, studies show that higher amounts and chronic use can disrupt sleep patterns (9). Drinking alcohol can lead to dehydration in a few different ways.
Give it time
When you drink, your body adjusts to the alcohol in your system in order to maintain a normal 8(ish)-hour cycle of sleep. But your body generally eliminates how long does a hangover last all the alcohol from your system after five to six hours, yet still remains adjusted to the presence of alcohol. But after a few drinks, your heart starts pumping faster, and the blood vessels can’t expand enough to accommodate all the blood.
- Currently there is no known “true cure” for a hangover except letting it wear off, according to Dr. Nguyen.
- However, drinks that contain caffeine are diuretics, which may worsen the effects of dehydration in the body.
- If sports drinks aren’t your thing (or you don’t have any around and can’t stomach the idea of running to the store in your current state), plain old water can help do the trick, too.