You're having a blast hanging with your friends. Maybe you're celebrating a special occasion, like a wedding or bachelor(ette) party, or perhaps it's your first Mardi Gras. One drink turns into two, then two turns into a couple more. You had a great time and made memories to last a lifetime — but the next morning is a bit less fun.
Sometimes the best nights of our lives lead to waking up with symptoms like headache, fatigue, and nausea. And now all you want to know is how to get over a hangover fast.
Causes of a hangover
Yes, drinking too much alcohol causes a hangover, but how? Alcohol disrupts your biological clock, which affects your sleep. This can make you feel fatigued. Alcohol also causes dehydration, throwing your electrolytes off balance and leading to increased thirst and headache. As if that weren't enough, drinking can irritate your stomach lining and increase inflammation throughout your body, which contributes to the overall "ick" feeling of a hangover.
Hangover symptoms kick in as the alcohol wears off, peaking when your blood alcohol hits zero. And it's not always a matter of how many drinks you had. Everyone reacts to alcohol differently due to factors like weight, genetics, and tolerance (hence terms like "lightweight"). You may have had half as many drinks as your friends at last night's New Year's Eve party but feel the same or worse the next day.
How to get over a hangover fast
Hangover symptoms often last about a day, and your body needs to process the alcohol and recover from its effects. You can't speed up this process, but you can take steps to make the symptoms less severe. Your friends or family probably have many remedies, but only a few self-care steps actually help. For example, drinking more alcohol the next morning ("hair of the dog") isn't a hangover cure. This will only delay your symptoms and leave you feeling worse for longer.
Instead, try these steps to recover faster from a night of drinking:
Hydrate
Rehydrating after a fun night out is the best way to beat a hangover. Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning frequent bathroom breaks, which leaves you dehydrated. In addition, many people forget to drink water throughout the night, especially when they're a few drinks in. All of this can add up to mild dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.
Drink water, broth, or a sports drink with electrolytes. IV therapy can also boost hydration and provide electrolytes directly to your bloodstream for quick relief.
Eat carbs
Some people love to dig into a big, greasy breakfast, but it's best to stick with bland, easy-to-digest foods like toast, crackers, and rice. Applesauce, bananas, and juice can also help. As your body processes those margaritas, it can cause your blood sugar to drop, leading to nausea, sweating, and shakes. Consuming simple carbs and sugars can help raise your blood sugar back to a normal level.
Sip coffee or tea
It's not proven to cure a hangover, but a caffeinated beverage may help you wake up a bit and shake off some of the sluggishness. Caffeine also narrows the blood vessels in your brain, which can help relieve headaches.
Take an OTC pain medicine
You can take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen or naproxen, to soothe a headache and body aches. Just take them with food to avoid further irritating your stomach lining. Avoid Tylenol (acetaminophen), which taxes your liver more when there's still alcohol in your system.
Try a vitamin supplement
B vitamins and zinc may help ease the severity of hangover symptoms, including nausea and fatigue.
How IV therapy helps you recover from a hangover
Dehydration is one of the most common factors of a hangover, and it can cause a range of uncomfortable symptoms. So, replenishing hydration is a key part of how to get over a hangover fast. Enter mobile IV therapy. With mobile IV therapy, you don't even have to leave the house — which is probably the last thing you feel like doing. You simply make an appointment online and a trained certified nurse brings everything you need right to you, whether that's at home, in a hotel room, or at a friend's house.
You can also get IV therapy treatments as a group, making after-day recovery yet another part of a fun and memorable weekend. Blue IV's The Renew and Restore Package is designed for recovery from exertion, including a wild night out. This package contains taurine and magnesium to restore your body's electrolyte balance, B vitamins to boost energy and reduce nausea, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to reduce inflammation throughout your body.
Bringing quick relief to your door
IV therapy treatments deliver hydration and nutrients right to your bloodstream, allowing your body to absorb them faster than taking them orally immediately relieving your hangover symptoms.
So if your party got a bit out of hand and you're feeling it the next day, book an appointment. You can even schedule in advance if you know you plan to get a little loose. You'll be back on your feet before you know it.
