Hung over? Then you should check out our tips for how to relieve a hangover, what you absolutely should not do the day after a wet night – and how best to prevent a hangover.
Few things are as heartbreaking as an intense hangover. Here we answer the most common questions about being hungover and give tips on what you can do to feel better.
How to cure a hangover?
There are a few things you can do to stave off hangovers:
- Drink water. Dehydration is often what lies behind many of the symptoms after a wet night. If you feel generally tired, have a headache or even dizziness, you are probably dehydrated, so make sure to drink plenty of water. If you feel very nauseous, try drinking a few teaspoons of liquid. It makes more difference than you think.
- Sleeping. Alcohol has a negative effect on both the quality and duration of sleep, which worsens hangover symptoms. Try to get enough sleep and make sure your bedroom is cool and dark.
- Take pain pills. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen can help with the headache and other pain. However, do not take paracetamol, it can have a harmful effect on the liver if you still have alcohol in your system.
What should you eat when you’re stuck?
Carbohydrates
Alcohol can lower blood sugar, something you can remedy by eating carbohydrates. According to the Swedish Food Agency, useful carbohydrates can be found in, among other things, whole grain varieties of bread, pasta and cereals.
B vitamins or Zinc
In a study published in The Journal of Clinical Medicine evaluated participants’ diets 24 hours before and after binge drinking. The results showed that people whose diets contained higher amounts of zinc and B vitamins had less severe hangovers.
Therefore, try the following:
- Upload with nuts and seedswhich are rich in zinc.
- Vitamin B12 is found in, among other things, meat and dairy products: meat, liver, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk and cheese. You who are vegan can try drinks that are enriched with B12, such as some soy, oat and rice drinks.
Does a restorer help?
According to Systembolaget, the answer to this question is simply “no”. On the other hand, it can be said that the restorer postpones the hangover.
How long are you behind?
According to Healthy living a hangover usually lasts one morning or up to 28 hours. However, it takes much longer than that for the body to recover from alcohol.
The liver begins to return to its normal function after two weeks without alcohol and can be fully restored after 4-8 weeks – depending on your alcohol habits and the condition your liver was in to begin with.
How do you prevent hangovers?
Here are some things you can do to prevent hangovers:
- Avoid dark alcohol. Studies show that light alcohol – such as vodka or gin – produces a milder hangover than dark alcohol such as whiskey, rum, red wine, cognac and tequila.
- Eat properly and take every other water. Then you fill up with liquid while giving your body a chance to burn off the alcohol you’ve already ingested.
- Do not smoke. An American study carried out with the help of over a hundred participants showed that people who smoked in conjunction with alcohol intake were at a significantly greater risk of experiencing more intense hangovers.
- Stop drinking before midnight. This gives the body time to recover during the night.
- Decide how much to drink in advance. You can keep track of this by keeping a note on your mobile where you, for example, add a drink emoji for each drink. Feel free to ask a friend to remind you during the evening that you have a predetermined limit.
Therefore, hangovers get worse with age
As you get older, the enzymes in your liver that help break down alcohol also decrease. In other words, the older you get, the longer the alcohol stays in the body, which is why you feel hungover for longer than you did in your teens! Read more about it here!
Sources: Cry, liquor store, 1177, The Swedish Food Agency, Harvard Health Publishing, Sleep, Cosmopolitan, Healthy living
