How to Get Over a Hangover

Don't you just love one of those binge drinking and 'bladder burst' parties? It's all fun for the night, but the problem is the morning after. You wake up with a splitting headache and realize that you have to lug yourself to work, hangover or no hangover. Hence it is essential to know how to get over a hangover.

What is a Hangover?

Before we proceed to the part about getting over a hangover, it is important to understand what is a hangover. A condition in which there is mental and physical lethargy is known as a hangover. It means that the effects of alcohol have 'hung-over' to the next day. Why does a person suffer from a hangover? Alcohol or ethanol to be precise, is a diuretic. This means that consumption of alcohol makes you urinate a lot, reducing the amount of water in the body. Along with this, to metabolize alcohol, the body needs to use a lot of water, so that it can be diluted and metabolized. Hence it is a double whammy to the water reserves in the body. Hence the hangover symptoms are largely caused due to dehydration. Add to that, there is also the matter of the effect that toxins have on the body due to alcohol consumption. All these factors lead to the conditions which are collectively known as a hangover.

How to Get Over a Hangover?

Now if you ask me for ways to prevent a hangover, I'd say that the logical thing to do is to reduce the consumption of that devious fluid which causes a hangover: alcohol. I'm not saying that you ought to go off the drinks cold turkey, but it is important that you understand your limit, the amount of alcohol that your body can really take, and stay well within it. After all, it is the more responsible thing to do, rather than go drinking bottoms-up and then search on how to get rid of a hangover. But sometimes, in the heat of the moment, it is understandable that your drinking may get a bit out of hand. In this case you will be on the lookout for hangover remedies or how to cure a hangover. Hence, here are some ways to get hangover relief.

Tip #1: Since a hangover is largely caused by dehydration, it may be a really good idea to drink some water or some juice with your drinks. That's what I call the cocktail secret. What a cocktail does is that it dilutes the alcohol with some water or juice so that the impact is lessened. So a good way to cure a hangover is to drink some water the next morning so that the water level in the body gets replenished.

Tip #2: The second tip I can offer to help you get rid of a hangover is to drink energy drinks. Gatorade and Powerade are my personal favorites. They do the same job outlined above: replenish the water level in the body. But there is also the added benefit of restoring the electrolytes level in the body. I think that energy drinks will have a faster effect than water to get rid of a hangover the next morning.

Tip #3: One of the answers to 'how to get over a hangover' is to eat something. Due to excessive urination, lot of nutrients may have been washed out of your body too. Hence you need to eat something that will bring back the vitamins into your body. Some people also recommend that you eat something which has a higher fat content. The bottom line is to get some nutrients into the body so that the effect of the hangover is reduced.

The best ways to prevent a hangover are relatively simple. Do not just drink alcohol. Have some food with the alcohol. Also keep drinking water/soda/juice along with your drink. The most important thing is - understand and respect your limitations.

So this was all about how to get over a hangover. I cannot help but emphasize on the point about knowing your limits. Alcohol addiction is a terrible thing, hence it is important to keep your drinking habits in check.