Smart Drinking – Forget the hangover
No doubt everyone has heard of various ways to prevent or cure a hangover, but who knows better than a college student? All the ins and outs of smart drinking come at a price; First of all, someone has to buy the alcohol and, let’s just say, it would save everyone some time if my employer made my paycheck payable at the local liquor store. I enjoy my party time and have spent a fair amount of time researching both how to prevent and cure the dreaded hangover.
Let’s start with the saying “Liquor before beer, you’re clean. Beer before liquor, never sick again.” I’ll admit I never thought much of that saying, but some of it comes from age. We all know that young children bounce off walls like rubber balls seemingly unharmed. As we get older, falling off the bike hurts more, getting out of bed hurts more, and who’s to deny that unlike whiskey, hangovers get worse with age. I wouldn’t classify myself as old, I’m 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 of miles, but things don’t seem to work the same. not anymore. Maybe those years of reckless behavior are catching up with me, but maybe the saying is starting to hold some water. I recently found out, by chance, that it does indeed contain a grain of truth. At least for me it does.
Dec 31, 2016 The festivities start early and I’m feeling a little more sophisticated than the regular Miller Lite. So I drink myriad mixed drinks and with my pocket BAC meter I blew a .09 before the year was out. I thought for sure I was going to feel this in the morning so I decided to live it up and embrace the new year as it comes my way. The party goes well past midnight and I switch to beer around 2am. For the next 7 hours I’m drinking beer while the fire burns in the yard, the dark hours drawing to a close. The sun comes up and at 9 am I decide it’s time for bed and head inside. I didn’t know I fell asleep in the hallway, but let’s just say that’s how it went. My sister wakes me up and throws a blanket on her bedroom floor for me and I sleep there for 2 hours until my girlfriend comes to pick me up on her way to work. I climb into my own bed after she drops me off at home and wake up at 2:45 pm feeling refreshed. Interestingly, starting the night with liquor helped prevent what could have been one of the worst hangovers in human history.
This next one I had never heard of and came up with on my own. Activated charcoal tablets, available in most stores and almost guaranteed at local pharmacies, when taken before you start drinking and after you finish drinking will prevent a hangover, but will do nothing to affect your euphoric level. you get from your night out, in my experience it might even make it a little better!
Lastly, one that I had forgotten for a while and with the discovery of charcoal pills, I haven’t realized myself forgetting, is to simply drink a full glass of water before bed, this will replace much of the water you lost. the night before and help your body maintain proper water levels.