Some of us have had those nights where a “One bottle?” text gets us straight out the door. It all ends the same. Yet, we always think that maybe… just maybe… this one night will really be one bottle. Who are you kidding? As the night goes on, of course, one bottle turns into two, and then three. By the end of the night, you’ve lost count of how many bottles you’ve actually consumed.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve found that there’s an inverse relationship between age and alcohol consumption. What used to be three bottles of tequila with my friends is now one bottle of tequila. It takes less alcohol to get that buzz, but the more alcohol I drink, the worse the hangover. Waking up with that headache makes me want to go back to the time when I didn’t have hangovers. Signs of aging, I guess.
Since it was International Beer Day yesterday—heck, since it was a Friday yesterday—the cause for celebration definitely called for more than one bottle. If you’re part of the weaker genetic pool, you’re probably nursing a hangover.
Of course, everyone has their own way of dealing with their hangover, but these three remedies are so universal that they’re probably already a part of yours. Forget IV drips and fancy supplements— sleep, water and some good old greasy food will get you up and running quicker than anything else.
Sleep
Sleep is, indeed, for the weak in this context. I’ve noticed that after a night of drinking, I always wake up early the next day, so this piqued my curiosity. Apparently, alcohol disrupts our sleeping patterns. While it gets us asleep right away, there’s a rebound effect when our body metabolizes it. It messes up our REM sleep, which is why we always feel groggy when we wake up. I always try to get a few more hours of sleep after this to feel better.
Water
When we were kids, we thought soda was the cool drink. When we were teenagers, we thought alcohol was the cool drink. As an adult, I can say, water is the coolest drink ever. It’s really all we need.
We pee a lot when drinking because our body tries to wash away the alcohol, so our body loses a lot of water. This is also one of the reasons why we wake up early the next day. It’s our body telling us that we need to replenish all the water we’ve lost, so head on to the kitchen, and get a good, cold glass of water. Maybe even make it three glasses, to be sure. I like to do this before going to bed and after waking up.
Life hack: always drink water after a shot or a drink. Prevention is better than cure.
Oily food
It’s a no-brainer that eating after drinking is good, but eating oily food is the best. You know what I’m talking about. Silogan ni Gian is one of the places to be after a night out. It’s all about that tapsilog, bacsilog or chicken skin silog.
There’s actually a lot of science to back up why eating oily food is good for a hangover. It delays the body’s absorption of alcohol, so you don’t feel as hammered as you should.
Whether you’re dealing with a hangover right now or you’re planning to drink like a king or queen tonight, these three things are sure to help you get through that headache.