Simple Ways to Beat Your Hangover and Feel Great

Hangovers are a rite of passage, but they don't have to ruin your day. Here's how to prevent them and recover fast, no matter how hard you went.

By Your Bro · Fri Feb 01 2019 · Self Improvement

One of the most discussed topics among men of drinking age is "hangover cures." Everyone has their own spin on things: from Chinese food, to working out, or a good massage. To date, nobody has been able to definitively solve the problem of nausea, soreness, dizziness, a pounding headache, and overall feeling like death. Here's how to handle it.

The Science of The Hangover

Before being able to solve the problem, you need to understand what causes it. Your brain is pounding out of your skull. Your body feels like it went twelve rounds with Rocky Balboa. Your stomach is so sour you can't predict which end it's all going to come out of. Not a pretty sight.

The reason you feel this way has to do with ethanol. That's the alcohol in your drinks. It's a toxic chemical, and it works in your body as a diuretic. This means it makes you pee more. You become dehydrated as a result. Dehydration is one of the main causes of your hangover symptoms. It forces you to crawl into a ball under your sheets and hate your life for the next eight hours.

Preventing the Pain

Now that you know the cause of the awful feelings you're having, you can get ahead of it. This is a two-step approach: prevention and reaction. Let's start with prevention. Preventing the hangover requires some sound judgment at the end of the night. For many of us, that isn't a realistic option. If you're level-headed enough to avoid passing out fully clothed on your floor, you have an opportunity to prevent your hangover altogether.

Ideally, the prevention play requires three steps. One is optional. The first (optional step) is to have a slice of bread when you get home. If you can't manage to find a pizzeria on the way back to your place, bread will do. Alcohol lowers your blood sugar. Carbs counteract that. WebMD confirms that alcohol can initially raise, then significantly lower, blood sugar levels. A slice of bread can help stabilize that.

Next, grab a glass of water. Swallow a Vitamin B Complex pill. Lucky for you, these vitamins combine essential nutrients that help convert our food into fuel, allowing us to stay energized throughout the day. Additionally, they break down sugars in alcohol. You feel like a human being again when you wake up.

The Morning After: Damage Control

Next is the reactive approach. This is option two, for those of you that don't make it home in a coherent state. It involves one thing: Pedialyte. This electrolyte drink is a miracle. It can rid you of your absolute worst hangovers. It also comes in a powder form. This stuff literally wakes the dead.

I remember one New Year's Eve a few years back. The night was a blur. Woke up feeling like a truck hit me. My buddy, who always seemed to avoid the worst of it, just handed me a bottle of Pedialyte. Within an hour, I was actually able to hold a conversation. It wasn't perfect, but it was a hell of a lot better than staring at the ceiling, regretting every life choice.

Drink some Pedialyte. Eat something greasy. You're on your way to join the living again. The grease and salt in that breakfast helps settle your stomach and replaces some of what you lost. The Mayo Clinic lists dehydration and gastrointestinal irritation as major hangover causes, so rehydrating and gentle food works.

Long-Term Strategies

You can't outrun the bill for too long. If you find yourself consistently battling hangovers, it's time to look at your overall drinking habits. Remember, drinking in excess is not healthy. It has lots of negative side effects. It can give you skin issues. It can contribute to a dad bod gut. I went deeper on the myth of the dad bod in The Dad Bod Hype is a Lie.

Heavy drinking can also impact your sperm count. Research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health shows that even moderate alcohol consumption can negatively affect semen quality. You want to build a legacy, not just a good time.

If you drink in moderation and pick your spots, you'll be alright. Know your limits. If you struggle with knowing when to stop, there are resources available. Don't be too proud to use them. Being a man means taking control of your life. Sometimes that means admitting you need help, which is something I cover in How to Take Control of Your Life in Ten Steps.

A good rule of thumb: for every alcoholic drink, chase it with a glass of water. It slows you down. It hydrates you. It might save you from yourself later.

—Your Bro