Just How Effective Are Hangover Remedies, Really? Here's What You Need To Know

Let's be real—hangovers are awful.

We've all heard the old wives' tales about how to cure your hangover.

Just drink some good ol' hair of the dog to cure your headache, your grandfather says to you.

The truth is, though, that the traditional hair of the dog method doesn't work! It only delays the effects of your hangover to a later hour. After all, why would solving problems in your body created by drinking alcohol entail drinking further alcohol?

Fortunately, there are some tried, tested, and proven hangover remedies that actually work. But the question is: how effective are they?

In this blog, you'll discover the top hangover remedies graded on relative effectiveness.

#1. Electrolytes

Electrolytes are the first on our list because these puppies are by far the most efficient and essential means of eliminating your hangover.

Advanced electrolyte powders assist in hydration. Electrolytes are charged ions that replenish your body with the minerals it needs to absorb fluids.

Additionally, they help your body expel toxins. The essential electrolytes include sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and chloride, among others.

Electrolytes are incredibly useful because they help your body function on a daily basis. These compounds help direct water to your body where it needs water most.

Since a hangover is essentially alcohol-induced dehydration, your body needs to reabsorb water effectively.

However, electrolytes rank even higher than water in this list because alcohol reduces your body's ability to retain water on its own.

Because alcohol inhibits the hormone vasopressin 1 2, you won't retain the water you'll drink and end up going to the bathroom to urinate more frequently.

With electrolytes, though, your body can create more vasopressin 1 2. Therefore, you can retain water and rehydrate better.

You can easily replenish your body's electrolyte stores using powdered electrolyte hydration supplements for hangover recovery.

#2. Water

Rehydrating using water can help with the symptoms of a hangover. It's also essential to drink water before, during, and after you've gone drinking for the night.

As mentioned previously, alcohol is a dehydrating agent. Alcohol has this property because it's a diuretic agent, meaning that it ups the amount of urine a person passes typically.

As a result, when you're drunk, you'll lose fluid and electrolytes.

Electrolytes regulate nerve, cellular, and muscle function. They also hydrate the body, maintain your blood pressure and pH, and help reconstruct damaged tissue.

Most critically, though, electrolytes are the chemicals that help your body retain the water you drink. So when you're hung-over or trying to prevent a hangover, your best bet is to combine water with an advanced electrolyte powder supplement for rehydration.

#3. Bananas

As discussed previously, one of the essential electrolytes your body loses out on when you're drunk is potassium.

Bananas are rich in potassium and therefore help replenish some of your body's potassium electrolyte stores.

Additionally, bananas are a good source of vitamin B6, which has been reported to help with hangovers.

Bananas also calm blood vessels and reduce inflammation, which can help with the dreaded hangover headache.

To consume this fruit, you can eat it directly or make a nice banana smoothie. Some people even boil bananas in water and drink the resulting banana tea.

Banana tea is a concoction of bananas, water, and sometimes honey or cinnamon, depending on your taste pallet.

Like bananas, it's a great source of antioxidants, potassium, and magnesium. It's also an anti-inflammatory agent.

#4. Herbal Teas

Herbal teas help enhance the detoxification process for alcohol in your liver.

The herbs in herbal teas serve to strengthen the processes within your liver.

Many herbal teas are awesome for hangovers. Ginger tea, for example, increases blood flow, reduces nausea, and helps ease stomach pains.

Mint tea also helps with digestion. Mint tea's essential oils also serve to improve your concentration and increase energy levels.

Chamomile tea serves to reduce anxiety if you're having the kind of hangover in which fear becomes a prominent emotion. Chamomile also helps with headaches.

Green tea works similarly. Caffeinated green tea is also beneficial because it helps address the fatigue and drowsiness that come with a hangover.

When alcohol enters your stomach, it increases acid production, causing inflammation that results in stomach pains and nausea. Because it's a potent anti-inflammatory agent, consuming green tea before drinking can help prevent damage to your liver.

#5. Get Plenty of Sleep

Sleeping your drunkenness away is helpful because it gives your body a chance to heal without doing too much. In particular, sleeping helps your liver remove the toxin build-up from the alcohol you consumed.

Therefore, this time spent sleeping allows your liver to break down the alcohol effectively.

Studies show that a lack of sleep can actually make your hangover worse.

#6. Take a Pain Reliever

Over-the-counter painkillers like Aspirin and Ibuprofen can help reduce hangover symptoms like headaches and muscle aches.

These medicines should be taken with precaution because they are "gastric irritants" and can thus worsen stomach pains or nausea.

Pain relievers like Aspirin and Ibuprofen should not be taken when you're experiencing stomach pains or nausea.

While points 3-6 are certainly helpful when you're in a pinch, your best bet is to prevent hangovers altogether at the root. Because hangovers result from electrolyte and water loss, to cure and even prevent them, your best bet is to load up on water and electrolytes. Fortunately, you can combine them by drinking these hangover prevention supplements.

Kistopher is an experienced writer and has years of knowledge in various aspects of life and business.