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7 Ways To Ease A Nasty Hangover

7 Ways To Ease A Nasty Hangover
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By Corrie Pikul

There's no question that the best way to avoid a hangover is to stop at one drink (or zero), but when that—sigh—doesn't happen, here's what to do.

When it's last call...
Skip the brandy, whiskey, red wine—all of which have a higher concentration of congeners, chemicals believed to worsen alcohol's effects. Instead, stick with a nightcap with a lower concentration, such as a lager, gin or vodka. The best choice? A lemon-lime soda. A recent study from China showed that a carbonated, sugary, lemon-lime beverage (similar to Sprite or 7Up) helped liver enzymes metabolize alcohol faster, reducing the production of acetaldehyde, the toxic byproduct of alcohol and a suspected cause of hangovers. Keep in mind that this study was done in dishes and test tubes in the lab and not on real, live, intoxicated people, so experts are still hesitant to call lemon-lime soda (or anything, really) a proven "cure" for hangovers. Nevertheless, the liquid in the soda is rehydrating, and the sugar can give you some energy for the trip home.

When your friend offers you a cigarette (because she knows you only smoke when you drink)…
Tell her about this Brown University study that found that university students who smoked while drinking were more likely to wake up with severe hangovers than students who drank the same amount but didn't smoke.

When you arrive home and get the munchies…
Root through your kitchen cupboard for a can of chicken soup. The broth will help you replace lost fluids—not to mention the potassium and salt you've lost while repeatedly ducking into the ladies room—and the noodles are easy to digest.

When you realize that only eight hours stand between you and your wake-up alarm...
Go home and go to bed. Research shows that sleep deprivation makes a hangover worse, says Michael Fingerhood, MD, the chief of the division of chemical dependency at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Due to the very excellent chance you'll be woken up at least once by nightmares, nature calling or the desire for a tall glass of fresh water, the sooner you lie down, the better. (Before your next big night out, plan to spend a couple nights staying in and getting at least 7 hours of sleep.)

When you wake up and your head feels like it's full of rocks…
Take an ibuprofen (it's best if you already have some food in your stomach; if not, eat some pretzels or another light snack). Though scientists are still analyzing the precise mechanisms of hangovers, Fingerhood says, they have found that non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen can ease the ache in your head—as well as in the rest of your body.

When you go to the diner for a pick-me-up breakfast...
Skip the bacon, sausage, cheese and any other greasy food you've heard will "soak up the alcohol." There's no evidence that fatty foods can make you feel better or more sober, says Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, MD, a consultant in addiction psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic—and they may make you feel queasy. If only you'd known that at dinner yesterday: Fatty foods (of any kind—burgers and cheese as well as salmon and avocado) take longer to digest, so they slow the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.

When the day-after is half over and you've only made it as far as the couch...
Go for a walk or an easy jog. Forcing your body to get moving will distract you from the achiness and heaviness it's probably feeling, Hall-Flavin says. What's more, exercise triggers the release of endocannabinoids in the brain, which, Hall-Flavin adds, will put a positive spin on your mood. Keep it light and easy-to-moderate, and nix any class that takes place in a 100-degree studio, like hot yoga. "You can't sweat out the alcohol, so this type of workout will only exacerbate your dehydration—and your hangover," Hall-Flavin says.

Before You Go

7 Things To Know About Women And Alcohol
1. More Women Are Binge Drinking(01 of07)
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According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates released earlier this year, nearly 14 million women in the U.S. binge drink roughly three times a month. For women, binge drinking is defined as having four or more drinks in a single period, but most women average six drinks per binge. Women with a household incomes above $75,000 are more likely to binge, as are women age 18 to 34 and in high school. According to the CDC, 1 in 5 teenage girls binge drink, a behavior that poses serious health risks, including unintentional injuries, alcohol poisoning, liver disease and stroke, among others. (credit:Getty)
2. Women Drink "Less Well" Than Men(02 of07)
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Women's bodies tolerate alcohol differently than men's for reasons that are not yet fully understood, Slate explains. It may be that the hormone estrogen interacts with alcohol in a way that increases the risk for liver problems, Slate says, or it could be due to differences in stomach enzymes. Plus, as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) points out, women's bodies have less water per pound than men's. If a man and woman who weigh the same amount drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman will likely have a higher blood alcohol concentration, because alcohol disperses in water and her body has less. (credit:Getty)
3. Drinking Becomes Problematic For Women At Lower Levels ...(03 of07)
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Largely because women's bodies tolerate alcohol differently than men's, they're more likely to be at risk for alcohol-related problems. Those risks include specific health diseases and conditions, such as liver disease, heart disease and breast cancer, as well as alcohol dependence. The NIAAA defines the "low-risk" drinking limit as no more than seven drinks per week for women, and no more than three drinks in any one sitting. For men, it's no more than 14 drinks per week, and four drinks in any one day. (credit:Getty)
4. ... But They Seek Treatment Sooner(04 of07)
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As HuffPost's Amanda Chan previously reported, a new study released earlier this summer, which included more than 500 males and females, found that women who abuse alcohol tend to seek out help four to five years earlier than their male counterparts. Why that is, isn't exactly clear at this point, although in a statement, Rosemary Fama (a senior research scientist at Stanford University, who did not work on the study) hypothesized that women may attach less social stigma to drinking problems than men, and therefore may be more likely to report theirs, according to HealthDay. (credit:Getty)
5. During Pregnancy, No Amount Has Been Proven Safe(05 of07)
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A new book "Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong and What You really Need To Know" has made waves for challenging many of the beliefs women and their doctors have long held, among them, that drinking during pregnancy is strictly off limits. Occasional drinking may not pose any danger, concludes author Emily Oster, an economist who was inspired to analyze the existing scientific literature when she became pregnant. But the fact remains that no amount of alcohol during pregnancy has been proven to be safe. In other words, there exists no clearly defined threshold at which experts can say alcohol consumption is safe, which is why most advise simply avoiding it altogether. (credit:Getty)
6. Drinking Ups Breast Cancer Risk(06 of07)
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"The use of alcohol is clearly linked to an increased risk of developing breast cancer," the American Cancer Society warns -- and that risk increases with the more alcohol a woman consumes. For example, a woman who sips only one drink a day has a very small increase in overall risk, the ACS explains, whereas a woman who has up to five drinks a day has roughly one-and-a-half times the risk of a woman who doesn't drink at all. That said, drinking is hardly the only risk factor for the disease -- there are many others that contribute, including a woman's lifestyle and her genes. (credit:Getty)
7. Alcoholism May Be Deadlier In Women(07 of07)
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A German study published last year concluded that alcohol dependence is twice as deadly for women as for men. The death rate for alcohol-dependent women was four times that of a sample of comparable, non-addicted, 18- to 64-year-old women, but only double for men. While the "why" is unclear, the research is in line with other studies suggesting the effect of alcohol on women is "particularly harsh," CASAColumbia's vice president and director of policy research and analysis told HuffPost. (credit:Getty)
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