If you’ve ever overindulged in alcoholic drinks, you’ve likely experienced the familiar agony of a hangover the next morning. Symptoms like headache, fatigue, nausea, dehydration, and body aches can leave you feeling miserable.
Hangovers happen when there’s still alcohol in your bloodstream from the night before. Your body is working hard to break down alcohol’s toxic byproducts while dealing with imbalances from dehydration and disrupted sleep. No fun!
While the only sure cure is time, there are ways to relieve hangover symptoms and recover faster. We tapped registered dietitians and medical experts for their best science-backed hangover helpers so you can get back on your feet sooner and feeling better ASAP.
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
Alcohol acts as a diuretic, increasing water loss through urine and leading to classic hangover dehydration. Replenishing those lost fluids by drinking water is crucial, says Niket Sonpal, MD, a New York–based internist and gastroenterologist and adjunct professor at Touro College.
Aim to drink one glass of water per drink you consumed the night before, sipping slowly rather than guzzling. This allows your body to steadily process and absorb the influx of fluids rather than overwhelming your system by drinking too much too fast. Sports drinks can help restore electrolyte losses from excess urination while providing some hydration, but they contain added sugars and calories—so stick to no more than one or two.
Eat When You Can
Your post-party appetite may be touch and go thanks to nausea. But getting in nutrients can aid recovery on several levels, so eat if you’re able, says Melissa Nieves, RD, a NYC-based dietitian. Bananas, for instance, contain potassium, an electrolyte lost through excess peeing. Their natural sugars and carbs can help regulate blood sugar disrupted from drinking. Toast and crackers provide bland carbs that can calm the stomach while avoiding fat, which takes longer to digest.
If eating doesn’t sound appetizing yet, stick to sipping fluids or sucking on ice chips at first. As nausea subsides, graduate to small, gentle foods. The BRAT diet is a classic go-to: Bananas, rice, applesauce and dry toast provide simple nutrients without overtaxing digestion. Bone broth serves up fluids, electrolytes and amino acids in an easy-to-digest format.
Take OTC Pain Reliever
Head and body aches are common hangover complaints. Over-the-counter meds like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), aspirin, and acetaminophen (Tylenol) tackle the pain, plus inflammation driving those nagging headaches. They won’t cure a hangover, but can offer symptom relief so you can start feeling better faster.
Follow dosing instructions carefully and know the risks: Ibuprofen and aspirin can irritate the stomach lining, upping your nausea. Acetaminophen aids headaches but can overtax the liver if combined with heavy alcohol consumption. Check with your pharmacist about how to safely take them.
Give Vitamins and Electrolytes a Boost
Between alcohol blocking absorption of key nutrients and excess trips to the bathroom flushing them from your system, getting sufficient vitamins and minerals takes a hit during a night of drinking.
Vitamin B6 helps form neurotransmitters depleted by alcohol metabolism while B12, C, E and folate aid general recovery. A balanced electrolyte formula (or coconut water) replenishes sodium, magnesium, calcium and potassium drunk away.
Supplements support nutritional shortfalls efficiently. But eating real food once the nausea subsides is ideal. Fruits like melon, leafy greens, eggs and yogurt offer vital antioxidants, vitamins and minerals in proper balance.
Catch Some Zzz’s
Ever notice how crummy you feel after a sleepless night, even without the alcohol factor? A big reason why hangovers hurt is because drinking disrupts sleep quality and cycles. So those zzz’s are an essential recovery tool.
Alcohol may help induce faster sleep, but prevents deeper, more restorative sleep stages later—leaving you exhausted the next day. Prioritize rest by sleeping in or napping to allow your body to fully recharge. Melatonin supplements can encourage sleep onset after alcohol disrupts natural melatonin rhythms.
Skip “Hair Of The Dog”
The notion of drinking more alcohol to relieve hangover symptoms comes from the idea it will calm withdrawal-like effects. Medical and addiction experts strongly advise against it. Having more booze briefly pauses symptoms but prolongs overall recovery. The best prescription? No more alcohol until it fully clears your system.
Even after obvious symptoms fade, alcohol leaves lingering effects on coordination, cognition, immunity and tissues for up to 24 hours—so additional drinking stacks impairment on top of an already-taxed system. Let your body work unimpeded to process lingering alcohol and rebalance strained systems.
Try Some Hangover-Busting Supplements
Certain supplements purport to target hangovers specifically with varying effectiveness. One promising option is DHM (dihydromyricetin), an antioxidant derived from the oriental raisin tree.
Some human trials found DHM reduced reported hangover severity and hangxiety (hangover anxiety). Study authors suggest it works by regulating alcohol metabolism byproducts, curbing inflammation driving symptoms like headache while shielding liver cells.
Activated charcoal supplements claim to sop up toxins from booze lingering in your system via the gut. But its binding effects can also disrupt absorption of meds like birth control, so talk to your doctor before trying this remedy.
While compelling supplements exist, most require larger human trials to fully demonstrate usefulness for hangovers. Work with your doctor or pharmacist to determine if any complement conventional hangover cures.
Sip Some Hangover-Fighting Drinks
Certain beverages purport stomach-settling and hydrating benefits that may help speed up recovery. Ginger tea can ease nausea from both stomach irritation and vertigo-inducing alcohol effects on inner ear balance regulation. Tart, fruity cherry juice contains antioxidants shown to decrease post-drink inflammation and exercise-induced muscle soreness—so may apply to body achiness.
That said, an independent review found limited evidence that most beverages cut hangover severity better than a non-alcoholic placebo. So while they won’t work miracles, sipping something soothing might lift your spirits, if nothing else.
Take It Easy
Heavy physical or mental activity can exacerbate unpleasant hangover symptoms. After a night of drinking, people performed worse on cognitive and motor tests than their sober selves.
So go easy on yourself. Scale back your schedule, avoid intense exercise, and give your brain a break from anything requiring your sharpest thinking skills. Relax with gentle stretching, meditation, or mellow hobbies instead of trying to power through a tough workout or demanding project. Allow your body to direct energy toward recovery.
Know Your Limits
While these remedies make recovery smoother, the only sure way to prevent a hangover is avoiding one in the first place. Why endure that pounding head and queasy stomach if you don’t have to?
Pace drinking by alternating each alcoholic beverage with a glass of water, which slows alcohol absorption into your system. Stop drinking alcohol an hour or two before bed so your body has time to process the alcohol load still onboard before sleep.
Most importantly, follow drink count guidelines to limit alcohol consumption to moderate levels specified as healthy and low-risk: two a day for men (or less for women and lighter individuals). Our alcohol calculator helps tally your numbers.
The Takeaway
Hangovers are never fun. But arming yourself with plenty of fluids, electrolytes, nutrients and rest speeds relief of symptoms and gets you back on your feet. With an arsenal of remedies, patience and TLC, you’ll bounce back faster and get on with enjoying your day—hangover-free.
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this discussion is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as medical or professional advice. Only a qualified health professional can determine what practices are suitable for your individual needs and abilities.