Contrary to popular beliefs, a greasy spoon fry-up or hair of the dog the day after a big night can actually make you feel much worse on your sensitive stomach. Eating it the night before will help protect the lining of your tummy to prevent alcohol from being too easily absorbed. Ideal meal choice is a beef burger and chips! If your head hurts the next day and you need sunglasses to open the fridge, then the following tips will help:
Hydrate
Water: Adams ale is the natural elixir and should be your number one priority when you wake. Alcohol is a diuretic (it pushes liquids from the body) and when there’s no water left, the body draws water from other parts of the body including the brain = almighty headache. So drink water before bed, and first thing to replenish those water levels!
Rehydrate with Sports Drinks with electrolytes and Coconut Water sports drinks like Powerade have carbs and electrolytes, or a more healthy option is coconut water which has 5 natural electrolytes.
Lemon & Ginger or Peppermint Tea Go herbal with a ginger and peppermint tea – both are great in helping to reduce nausea - they will settle your stomach gently.
Fruit Juice If you crave fresh fruit juice – avoid orange juice as this is quite acidic and may upset your stomach – opt for apple or cranberry. The natural fruit sugar (fructose) will give you some energy as well as vitamins.
Eat
Sunny-side up: Eggs are the champions of for hangover breakfast. They are jam packed with amino acids including Cysteine (breaks down acetaldehyde which causes headaches) and Taurine (boosts liver function).
Go bananas: This fresh fruit contains potassium which is an important electrolyte which alcohol depletes.
Chicken Noodle Soup: Not the most obvious hangover cure, but Jewish penicillin is both comforting and nourishing. It helps restore salt and water in the blood and also contains cysteine which supports the liver. It’s very easy to digest so won’t put extra pressure on your sensitive stomach. For vegetarians, opt for a miso soup which is also nourishing, restores sodium and aids digestion.
Exercise
Exercise is a helpful hangover cure but best not to run the marathon if you drank too much last night. Stretching, yoga and Swimming are great recovery aids:
You can do these 4 yoga postures in your pyjamas they’ll help relieve your fuzzy head and also speed up your hangover recovery:
1. Shavasana – Corpse Pose: lie on your back on a blanket on the floor with your legs and arms apart Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Roll your head sideways in slow gentle movements. Then just relax.
2. Balasana – Child’s Pose: From your Corpse pose, roll over onto your tummy. Breathing in, push your torso backwards so that you are kneeling down allowing your bottom to rest on your heels. Stretch your hands out in front of you so that your elbows, forearms and palms are resting on the floor. Your forehead should rest in the space between your hands and your tummy should rest gently on your thighs. Close your eyes and breathe deeply.
3. Ustrasana – Camel Pose: From Balasana, inhale and come onto your knees. Your thighs will be perpendicular to the floor and press the front side of the foot into the floor. Inhale and lift your hands over your head. Keeping your hands on your hips, breathe our and bend backwards and look at the ceiling. If you’re feeling dizzy just keep looking in front of you. Hold and breathe for 10 deep breaths.
4. Janu Sirsasana – Head To Knee Pose: sit on the floor and extend both your legs forward. Bend the right leg at knee, allowing the sole of the right foot to rest on the inside of the left thigh. Keep the pelvis on the floor while hips are squared, facing the front. Inhale and lift both the hands over the head. Exhale and fold forward, allowing the tummy to rest on thighs and hold the right foot. Hold the posture and breathe deeply for 10 breaths. Inhale and come up. Repeat the same with other side.
Massage
Feeling peaky? If the nausea’s bad, try massaging your medial forearm (one sixth of the way up from the wrist crease) – this is a technique used to combat morning sickness in pregnancy but is great for any type of nausea.
Or massage your temples and give your head some gentle headache relief.
We hope our handy tips help!