Willie Neslon
Footballguy
Hi everyone. Dr. Willie Neslon here and with a holiday weekend coming up I wanted to discuss hangovers and how to minimize them. We all know one of the bad things about getting older is our bodies don't behave like they used to and even a small amount of booze can lead to feeling really lousy the day after. For me, when I turned about 40, after a day or night of drinking my hangovers became almost too much to deal with. Some of my friends gave up booze completely around this time but I still wanted to enjoy some cocktails every now and again so instead of following their path I tried to discover a way to still enjoy a few drinks but not feel like death the next day. After years of research I have narrowed it down to 4 things that everyone can do in order to party like it's 1999 and not pay dearly for it. Without further ado, here are my 4 tips:
#1 Drink plenty of water before you start drinking alcohol
This is an obvious one but sometimes we can forget to hydrate before it is too late. Drinking a ton of water before you start drinking will lead you to be less dehydrated the day after. If you wake up the next day super dehydrated it is too late to avoid feeling the effects of being dehydrated. Yes, water or Gatorade or whatever the day after is going to quench that thirst but you will still feel the effects of dehydration. Drinking plenty of water before you start partying will make you less dehydrated the next day and being less dehydrated means a less severe hangover.
#2 - Take antacid right before bedtime
This is an easy step that anyone can do. Alcohol fires up gastric acid production and minimizing that acid will knock your hangover down a few notches. Acid reflux is one of the main factors contributing to that lousy feeling. Taking an antacid when the drinking is over/right before bed will guarantee your hangover will feel less severe. I take a Pepcid Complete.
#3 - Get in shape
This should be obvious. The worse shape you are in the worse your hangover is going to be. We all know regular exercise has many benefits. You look great, you feel great and to top it off being hungover is much easier to deal with. I had a love/hate relationship with working out. I've gone through phases of working out all the time to not working out at all. Several years back I committed to almost daily exercise (bike and light lifting) and haven't looked back. I can tell you for sure that if you are in shape your hangover won't be as bad than if you are out of shape.
#4 - Quit caffeine
This one will be controversial. I know many people will never give up their coffee or soda but I can tell you from personal experience that if you abstain from caffeine your hangovers will be much less severe. About 6-7 years ago I quit caffeine because I wanted to improve my sleep. Well my sleep did drastically improve but an unforeseen effect was I didn't feel so bad the day after drinking. I usually drank about 2-3 cups of coffee in the mornings only and let me tell you quitting caffeine, even that semi-small amount, was an absolute #####. It was about 10 weeks of hell. Once I got through it however I immediately noticed how much better I felt the day after consuming a couple-five drinks (in addition to many other benefits but that's for another thread). I know what your thinking, "but Dr. Willie, coffee helps sooth my hangover." Maybe it does a little but I can tell you for sure that if you were caffeine free you wouldn't even need to sooth yourself with caffeine to begin with.
Well that's it. After many years of research I have concluded it's those 4 things that will greatly reduce your hangover and allow you to continue enjoying your favorite libations for many years to come. Before I followed this plan my hangovers got to the point where they were about a 12 out of 10 on the I felt awful scale. Today I'm happy to report my hangovers are about a 3 out of 10 and it's all thanks to that 4 step plan.
Thank you for reading and please share your tips if you swear by anything. If you decide to follow my system feel free to share your results and experiences. Have a great holiday weekend everybody and happy drinking!
#1 Drink plenty of water before you start drinking alcohol
This is an obvious one but sometimes we can forget to hydrate before it is too late. Drinking a ton of water before you start drinking will lead you to be less dehydrated the day after. If you wake up the next day super dehydrated it is too late to avoid feeling the effects of being dehydrated. Yes, water or Gatorade or whatever the day after is going to quench that thirst but you will still feel the effects of dehydration. Drinking plenty of water before you start partying will make you less dehydrated the next day and being less dehydrated means a less severe hangover.
#2 - Take antacid right before bedtime
This is an easy step that anyone can do. Alcohol fires up gastric acid production and minimizing that acid will knock your hangover down a few notches. Acid reflux is one of the main factors contributing to that lousy feeling. Taking an antacid when the drinking is over/right before bed will guarantee your hangover will feel less severe. I take a Pepcid Complete.
#3 - Get in shape
This should be obvious. The worse shape you are in the worse your hangover is going to be. We all know regular exercise has many benefits. You look great, you feel great and to top it off being hungover is much easier to deal with. I had a love/hate relationship with working out. I've gone through phases of working out all the time to not working out at all. Several years back I committed to almost daily exercise (bike and light lifting) and haven't looked back. I can tell you for sure that if you are in shape your hangover won't be as bad than if you are out of shape.
#4 - Quit caffeine
This one will be controversial. I know many people will never give up their coffee or soda but I can tell you from personal experience that if you abstain from caffeine your hangovers will be much less severe. About 6-7 years ago I quit caffeine because I wanted to improve my sleep. Well my sleep did drastically improve but an unforeseen effect was I didn't feel so bad the day after drinking. I usually drank about 2-3 cups of coffee in the mornings only and let me tell you quitting caffeine, even that semi-small amount, was an absolute #####. It was about 10 weeks of hell. Once I got through it however I immediately noticed how much better I felt the day after consuming a couple-five drinks (in addition to many other benefits but that's for another thread). I know what your thinking, "but Dr. Willie, coffee helps sooth my hangover." Maybe it does a little but I can tell you for sure that if you were caffeine free you wouldn't even need to sooth yourself with caffeine to begin with.
Well that's it. After many years of research I have concluded it's those 4 things that will greatly reduce your hangover and allow you to continue enjoying your favorite libations for many years to come. Before I followed this plan my hangovers got to the point where they were about a 12 out of 10 on the I felt awful scale. Today I'm happy to report my hangovers are about a 3 out of 10 and it's all thanks to that 4 step plan.
Thank you for reading and please share your tips if you swear by anything. If you decide to follow my system feel free to share your results and experiences. Have a great holiday weekend everybody and happy drinking!
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