Is New Year’s Eve gonna be a heavy one? Here are a few handy hangover cures

COVID be damned, it’s going to be New Year’s Eve soon and we’re going to have a drink. Scratch that, we’re going to draaaaank.

And we’re going to enjoy it. So what if we’re just sitting in the house? After the 12 months 2020 has given us, we deserve this. 

We’re also confident that, deep down, we’re not alone. The most recent statistics published by Public Health England suggest that record numbers of us are drinking at least 50 units of alcohol a week at the moment. And who can blame us? Let’s be honest, there’s little else to do.

The problem, of course, is those pesky hangovers. Now we’re not trying to teach our granny how to suck eggs here (no offence), but we think it’s safe to say that we all forget the most simple advice about drinking sensibly almost as soon as that first drop of alcohol touches our lips. All we can do when this happens? The next best thing to prevention – deal as best we can with the consequences.

So humour us by letting us run through some simple, long-forgotten and some downright strange tips and tricks for how to survive the morning (or if you’re like us, the several days) after the night before. 

Spoiler alert: as much as we’d like them to, the following will do nothing for regret, self-pity and shame. 

REPLENISH THE STOCKS 

If alcohol dehydrates, then it goes without saying that it also causes the body to get rid of some key nutrients, so it’s no wonder that then makes us feel rubbish. 

Isotonic drinks like Lucozade Sport and Powerade can be life-savers here. They’re literally designed to replace sugars and salt quickly, so will give you a much-needed energy boost while rehydrating you. A glass of fruit juice will also help by giving you a sugary kick, as well as helping you get rid of the toxins in your body whilst replacing some of the essential minerals you’ve lost.

What your body could really use are some vitamins. One study found evidence that people who had a healthy amount of zinc and B vitamins in their everyday diets had significantly less severe hangovers than those who didn’t. Best get reaching for the leafy greens, then. And although scientists aren’t fully convinced, we at HLN swear by a cheeky Berocca before bed when we’ve had a drink. While some suggest you benefit more from the water you drink with them than the tablets themselves, it makes sense to us that a fast injection of vitamins B1 and B2 – both of which help you generate more natural energy from your food – will only be a good thing come breakfast time. 

STEP AWAY FROM THE COFFEE

This is not a drill. Yes, it may look, seem, smell and taste like the best idea in the world, but do not drink coffee on a hangover. God’s own beverage is actually a diuretic, which basically means that your cup o’ Joe will actually continue to dehydrate you and exacerbate your headache, fatigue, sweats, vodka shakes and heart palpitations.

Tea, on the other hand, has magical anti-hangover properties. Better yet, the sweeter the better – so no-sugar snobs, hold your fire. The caffeine and sugar will provide a much-needed boost without dehydrating you too much, and even the milk will work to replace the calcium you’ve lost. 

Decaf tea and green tea are also great options for a low-caff pick-me-up, while ginger tea is rumoured to be a perfect sickness-buster. Feeling crazy? Try milk thistle tea, which is said to be a hangover godsend. Boiled water with honey and lemon also does the trick for boosting blood sugar, as well as replenishing a few lost vitamins. 

HAIR OF THE DOG?

Right, it’s time to settle this once and for all: does the hair of the dog method actually work?!

Well, the short answer is yes. Although largely based on myth, there is actually some scientific evidence that having yet another drink the morning after a sesh lessens hangover symptoms. This is because alcohol changes the way our bodies process a chemical called methanol. After we drink alcohol, methanol is converted into formaldehyde – a toxic compound that could be the cause of some hangover symptoms. However, drinking alcohol when you’re already hungover can stop this conversion in its tracks and prevent the creation of formaldehyde altogether; instead, methanol can be safely exerted from the body. 

But this is problematic. For a start, you could simply be delaying the inevitable – armed with even more alcohol, your hangover could just come back later, with a vengeance. It’s also a risky business and could perpetuate a cycle of alcohol dependence that isn’t fun for anyone. So our recommendation? We’re no experts, but we’d advise against a morning-after sup. 

If you are tempted to hedge your bets, play it smart. When your blood has to deal with a new type of alcohol, it ignores the old, so instead of getting straight back on the G&Ts, opt for a Bloody Mary. Added bonus – the tomato juice, lemon, salt and pepper are replenishing some of your lost vitamins and minerals. 

SLEEP IT OFF 

When it comes to getting over a hangover, time and rest are often the best medicine. Although it may feel like we pass out, one of the main side-effects of drinking alcohol is the disruption caused to our sleep cycle, which is one of the reasons why we still feel as rough as a badger’s backside even if we did technically get our 8 hours. What can we do? Combat this the only way we know how – by sleeping some more.

OR JUST BURY US 

According to Irish folklore, the cure for a hangover can be found in burying the inebriated invalid up to the neck in moist river sand. A bit chilly for it, but at this point, we’ll try anything.