Do Hangover Cures Work?

Do these hangover cures actually work?

Anyone who’s ever drunk too much will be familiar with the headaches, sickness and dehydration that follows the next day! Hangovers are miserable, and unfortunately there is no real cure, however, there are a lot of theories on how to reduce the discomfort. We’ve sifted through these claims to tell you what's truth and what's trash!

1. H20: Alcohol makes you extremely dehydrated, and this is what causes most of the symptoms of a hangover.  Rehydrating with a ginormous glass of water before you go to sleep (especially if you’ve been vomiting) will help lessen the severity of headaches, fatigue and nausea.
2. Toast or crackers: Whilst no food can help stop the roller-coaster that’s in your stomach, basic carbohydrates can help bring your blood sugars back up in the morning. Vomiting usually causes our blood sugar levels to drop, and normally our liver would help raise them again, but after drinking your liver is very busy metabolising the alcohol so having some dry carbohydrates like bread or crackers may help reduce tiredness and irritability.
3. Sports Drinks: Drinking lots of alcohol does leave you a bit low in electrolytes and feeling dehydrated, but it’s not enough to warrant replacing them with a sports drink. Research has shown sports drinks are no better for a hangover than water from your tap, so save your money.
4. Coffee: This one is really down to personal preference. A lot of people use coffee the next morning to help make them feel more alive. Caffeine has been shown to both treat AND cause headaches so if it makes you feel better then go for it, if not... then opt for water instead!
5. More Alcohol? Bad idea. It is really just numbing you and masking the effect. You are simply prolonging the inevitable and it will eventually just make your head feel worse!
6. Pain medication: This will certainly help rid you of your splitting headache. You probably should choose paracetamol as this will be more gentle on your sensitive stomach.
7. Vitamins: Unfortunately there have not been any studies that show that any particular vitamin will make you feel better after a night of drinking, and one night of intoxication isn’t enough to throw off your nutrient balance anyway. If you normally take a multi then go ahead and continue.

The best cure: Prevention! We don’t need to remind you that the best way to avoid a hangover is to drink responsibly (yesss mum we know...). Try not to drink on an empty stomach and swap some alcoholic drinks for water instead over the night. If you do go over what your body can handle, then rehydrate, rest and listen to that tiny voice that says over and over “I am never drinking again”.