Almost every college student has had a night or two where he or she drank a little too much, and felt the consequences the next morning. It’s good to have some tips on how to get over a hangover and how to prevent yourself from getting a hangover.
One thing you should establish before a night of drinking or even day drinking is your limit. Knowing how much you’re able to drink can prevent a hangover or worse, alcohol poisoning. If you don’t know your limit, your friends probably do.
Before you go out drinking, it is important that you drink plenty of water. You need to be hydrated to prevent a hangover. Also drink water during and after drinking. Be sure not to drink too much water after because you might be getting up multiple time to use the restroom. It will disrupt your sleep and your recovery time, and in my experience, sleep heals most things. Some people prefer to drink at least one bottle of water before and two bottles after drinking. Adding ice cubes to your drink will dilute the alcohol and can also be a way to drink water while you get “turnt up.”
The kind of meal you eat before you drink alcohol is vital. Fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and especially carbohydrates are the best things to eat before a night of drinking. In my experience, anything with starch is the perfect thing to eat before or after drinking. The alcohol gets soaked up into the bread and sobers you up a bit. Fruits and veggies keep you hydrated, so if you don’t want to drink several cups of water before or after a night out, fruits and veggies are a sweet alternative. Salmon and chicken are foods one can eat to fill them up to avoid a hangover. Salmon is a healthy fat that will slow down how fast the alcohol gets to you.
If you are one of those unlucky party goers and wake up with all the symptoms of a hangover, one thing that works best for me is Sprite. I have no clue what’s in that soda, but it works wonders. A sandwich, soup and a 20 oz. bottle of Sprite make hangovers go away within two hours. However, results may vary.
Spicy food is one thing you want to avoid eating before a night out. Eating spicy foods increases your chances of acid reflux and drinking alcohol contributes to the stomach irritation and reflux.
Salty and processed snacks are something to avoid also. Eating these food before drinking can cause you to become bloated. Bloatedness may not be a problem for some, but it becomes one when you feel too full to drink or eat anything that will make you feel better. You may feel too full to drink water or eat something that will absorb the alcohol.
Caffeine should be avoided as well. It can make you feel more awake than you actually are and cause you to drink more than you need to. Drinking caffeine can make one feel like they’re not drunk, and that they’re aware enough to drive home when they’re in no condition to drive.
Our college experience is a time for us to get to know ourselves. We learn what we’re interested in whether it be our major or sexual orientation. We learn our limits, whether it be how much homework we can tackle in 24 hours because it’s due tomorrow, or how many shots we can take before blacking out. Hangovers are just one of the many obstacles college students endure, why not prevent it or make it easier to handle? After all, there’s probably a test we have to study for and don’t have time to be hungover.
Email Tamiyha Carter at fuse@cardinalpointsonline.com
