Smart Drinking – Forget the Hangover

There is no doubt that everyone has heard several ways to prevent or cure hangovers, but who knows better than a college student. All the ins and outs of smart drinking come with a price; firstly someone has to buy the alcohol and, let us just say, it would save everyone some time if my employer just made my pay check payable to the local liquor store. I enjoy my party time and have spent a good amount of time researching it, both how to prevent and cure the ever dreaded hangover.

Let us start with the saying “Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear. Beer before liquor, never sicker.” I will admit that I never put much stock into that saying but some of that comes from age. We all know that toddlers bounce off walls like rubber balls seemingly unscathed. As we get older falling off our bike hurts more, getting out of bed hurts more, and who can deny that unlike whiskey, the hangovers get worse with age. I wold not classify myself as old, I am 22, but when I was a few years younger I could drink vodka like water and wake up the next morning ready to run a couple miles but it just seems that things don’t work the same anymore. Maybe those years of reckless behaviour are catching up with me, but maybe the saying is starting to hold some water. I recently found out, quite by accident, that it does in fact hold a bit of truth. At least for me it does.

December 31, 2016 the festivities start early and I am feeling a little more sophisticated than just regular Miller Lite. So I drink a myriad of mixed drinks and with my pocket BAC meter blew a .09 before the year is over. I thought for sure I was going to feel this in the morning and so I decide to live it up and embrace the new year as it come unto me. The party goes until well after midnight and I switch to beer about 2 am. For the next 7 hours I am drinking beer while the fire burns in the courtyard the dark hours near an end. The sun comes up and at 9am I decide it is time for bed and I head inside. I was unaware that I had fallen asleep in the hallway but lets just say, that is how gone I was. My sister wakes me up and throws a blanket down on the floor of her bedroom for me and I sleep there for 2 hours until my girlfriend comes to pick me up on her way to work. I crawl into my own bed after she drops me off at home and wake up at 2:45 pm feeling refreshed. Oddly enough starting the night with liquor helped me prevent what could have been one of the worst hangovers in the history of mankind.

This next one I had never heard of and sort of came up with on my own. Activated charcoal pills, available at most stores and almost guaranteed at your local drug stores, when taken before you start drinking and after you finish drinking will prevent your hangover but do nothing to effect the level of buzz you get from your night of partying, in my experience it might even enhance it a little!

Lastly one that I had forgotten for a while and with the discovery of the charcoal pills, have not noticed forgetting, is just to drink a full glass of water before you turn in for the night, this will replace a lot of the water you lost the night before and help your body maintain adequate water levels.

Source by Khevan O Dueck