Well, we all know of it and most of us have even tried it. Some have had the ‘joyful’ experience just a few times, and others refer to it as a standard Saturday. I am of course referring to the famous experience of being hungover that, for some scientific reason, is an almost unavoidable aftermath of any incredible night out.
So you wake up, full of regret, you remember a lot but not the whole story, you are for some reason still fully dressed, and you suddenly notice the bucket next to your bed. What do you do? I have been doing some research around Örebro Campus, and it seems that there are quite a few different rituals connected to being hungover. I fact, checked this variety of approaches to this unpleasant situation, and here is what I found:
“The solution is to always drink a minimum of 1,5L of water before going to bed – even if you have to force it down your throat. Something salty the day after is also always a good idea.” – Mathias, 24 years old
WATER
It is highly recommended that you drink this pure liquid before heading to bed and continue to do so the following day! This is due to the fact that alcohol has this annoying diuretic effect, which causes looong lines to the bathrooms at the bar alongside dehydration, which can result in an unbearable headache. So ladies and gentlemen, drink water, and drink a lot of it! A rule of thumb says: ‘one glass of water per alcoholic drink you consume’!
SALTY MUNCHIES
Salt and salty food is definitely delicious and much appreciated the day after a night out, buuut salt is not a panacea for being hungover and there is no scientific proof of it enhancing the alcohol metabolism. Furthermore, you did not dance that much last night, so your body is most likely not lacking this mineral 😉
“Do not mix your alcohol with chemically sweet things and sugary liquids. Try to keep it simple and drink pure alcoholic shots or drinks like G&Ts.” – Antoine, 23 years old
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Drinking pure alcohol does not make you less hungover than if you add sugary liquids such as juice or soda to your alcoholic beverage. Buuut it must be said that your body has to destroy all the chemical substances (sugar included) you have consumed, so a general rule is that the more chemical substances the body has to degrade, the worse you feel. It is, however, the consumption of alcoholic percentage that is essential for your condition the day after a night out.
“Always eat either a banana or some eggs – or both. It helps!” – Rabir, 24 years old
THE HEALTHY CHOICES
Both banana and eggs seems to be good choices when planning your way out of your hangover-misery. Bananas contain a lot of potassium, which your body is in severe deficit of the day after because of alcohol’s diuretic effect, and this deficit makes you tired and dizzy! Eggs contain cysteine, which degrades the toxin acetaldehyde that is co-creator of your hangover. So if you want to help the process of recovering, bananas and eggs are the way to go.
“Eat before you start drinking, eat before going to bed and again the day after. Seems like eating has a tendency to keep the hangover at a distance.” – Signe, 24 years old
EAT SOMETHING BUT NOT EVERYTHING
Eating before you start to drink has its benefits in terms of you not getting insanely drunk after one hour at the party. Eating when you are already drunk can be beneficial in terms of your body needing some nutrition after several hours of crazy party, but it does not have any positive (nor negative) effect on the experienced hangover the day after. So eat before going to bed for your own thrill but not as a damage control, and try to make some healthy choices on the way since junk food has this tendency to worsen the nausea and increase the imbalance in your stomach.
“Sleep, sleep, and more sleep! That is the only cure. Shower is also a really good way to make yourself feel better, but only if you head back to your bed immediately after! Bring cheesy/salty/greasy food or whatever you can find in the kitchen, but stay in bed while you consume it.” – Emma, 20 years old
zzzzzZZZZZLEEEEEEEEEPZZZZzzzz
Not only are you lacking essential sleep because of the party animal that you are, but the hours of alcohol induced sleep you actually did get this night was of inferior quality. This means that sleep is a much-needed activity, and since sleep tends to be very time-consuming when you are hungover, you can rely on it to make your suffering a little more tolerable. Furthermore, you can add a little entertainment in terms of Netflix or whatever to make your day in bed less dull.
SHOWER AND OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES
There is no way to speed up the process of the alcohol metabolism, but you can make yourself feel better by, for instance, taking a shower or going for a walk outside. These activities may make you feel fresh and light, but they do not affect your blood alcohol content!
In general, it seems that all the students here at Örebro Campus have some really good rituals to battle their hangovers, and even if their actions are not speeding up the process of recovery they are making the pain more bearable! Only one thing has not been mentioned so far: TIME, which seems to be the only factor that can truly cure the hangover. So load yourself with patience and tons of water, because your body needs cleansing. And in case you have not got the patience required, you can always try out one of the above-mentioned strategies 😉
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