Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

18 Expert-Approved Ways to Prevent a Hangover

18 Expert-Approved Ways to Prevent a Hangover

Why regret more than your dance moves last night, amirite?

Warning: obvious answer ahead. The best way to prevent a hangover is to drink in moderation or not at all. But you’re probably not reading this for that advice, right? Well, according to the pros (you know, actual MDs and RDs), there are lots o' ways to ensure tomorrow’s hangover ghosts before you even get to the pregame. Thanks, science!

Oh, already feeling a lil tipsy? NBD, there are still things you can do prevent feeling like death tomorrow…and we’re about to spill them all.

Here, 19 expert-approved tricks to prevent a hangover at every stage of your bender journey. Just promise not to leave your phone in the Uber again.

Double up on multivitamins. B vitamins, which help turn the food you eat into energy, per the National Institutes of Health, are especially important since they get depleted when you drink says, Wendy Leonard, RDN, founder of Rhode Island Nutrition Therapy. So stock up on those pre-boozing.

"A big misconception is that hangovers are entirely about dehydration," says Jason Burke, MD, an anesthesiologist and the creator of Hangover Heaven, a mobile medical clinic based in Las Vegas that delivers onsite IV treatments for hangover sufferers. But other factors making you feel awful after drinking are inflammation and oxidative stress, or when your body's antioxidant defenses can't deal with free radicals (atoms that can damage cells in your bod), per the journal Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental. And it's much easier to prevent a hangover than it is to deal with it the next morning. Antioxidants help mitigate the damage, so pop an a multivitamin or drink acai or pomegranate juice before you go out, Dr. Burke says.

Give yourself a food baby. Ok, so nobody wants to feel bloated before a night out, but make sure you’re full. Like, really full. "When you drink alcohol on an empty stomach, it just passes the alcohol right to your intestines and then it’s absorbed into the bloodstream very quickly," explains Robert Swift, MD, associate director of the Brown University Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. Meaning, you'll get drunk faster and feel way worse the next day. Drinking on a full stomach ensures your blood alcohol stays lower, he says.

Leonard recommends chowing down on salmon, in particular, because its omega-3 fatty acids can help your liver detoxify your body better when you start drinking.

Hit the gym. One of the main reasons hangovers happen is because we’re trying to blow off steam and we go too far, explains Leon Coleman, MD, research assistant and professor at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at UNC Chapel Hill. That’s why he recommends working out or finding another healthy way to relieve stress before you go out. Then, when it’s time to rage, that work hard/play mentality is gone, says Dr. Coleman. "You can enjoy yourself without going too far."

Choose your squad wisely. Another reason we drink too much and then feel like trash the next day is because we’re with the wrong people. "Who you’re with is one of the main determinants of your behaviors, it’s been well studied,” he adds. Pro tip? Take note of your friends who bail on plans to nurse a hangover every Sunday and steer clear the next time they invite you out.


While You Drink

Opt for organic wine. Preservatives and pesticides may be why people feel more hungover drinking wine in the U.S. than they do in Europe, says Leonard. (Well, that and the fact that many European wines have less alcohol content than those in the U.S.) So if you can get an organic, preservative-free, or lower alc wine (think 12.5 percent or less) that might help prevent hangover symptoms tomorrow, she explains.

Make your roadie a Gatorade. You've probably heard that it's smart to chug water between cocktails to fend off dehydration (and the resulting headache) caused by alcohol. But coconut water or a sports drinks like Gatorade work even better. They replace your fluids and electrolytes, the nutrients you lose when you drink, according to Elizabeth Kovacs, PhD, director of the alcohol research program at Loyola University. Whenever you drink more than two drinks at a time, alternate between booze and a sports drink (or sip the latter throughout the night), and you'll be good to go.

Skip the smokes. When 113 college students documented their alcohol intake, smoking habits, and hangover symptoms every day for eight weeks, researchers found that when students drank heavily, smoking significantly increased the risk and severity of a hangover, according to a study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Stick with clear liquor. Vodka and gin may have fewer impurities than dark ones, like whiskey and rum, says Kovacs.

Choose juice over soda mixers. "OJ won't help you avoid a hangover -unless you drink it instead of a 14th beer," Kovacs says. But because fruit and vegetable juices contain extra vitamins, they're always better for you than soda.

Wash your hands super well. Drinking alcohol changes the way your immune system works, so if you're exposed to something like the flu when you're out and about, you're more likely to become infected, have a more severe reaction, and take longer to recover, Kovacs says. And if there's one thing that makes a hangover worse, it's flu symptoms like fever, muscles aches, and chills.

Dance your ass off. It's hard to hold a drink while you're breaking it down, so dancing, playing a game like pool, or ping-pong (assuming it involves paddles as opposed to cups of beer) can slow the destructive cycle of emptying your glass and immediately refilling it. Just be sure to stash a cup of water on the edge of the dance floor to rehydrate, particularly if you start to break a sweat.


Before You Go to Sleep

Don't overdo it on the water. It's true that hangovers can happen when your body gets too much bad liquid (alcohol) and not enough of the good kind (water).

However, Kovacs says chugging water can put undue stress on your body. And frequent bathroom runs can mess with your sleep. So after a night of heavy drinking, down a glass of water (and a second one, if you're particularly thirsty), and leave a full glass on your nightstand to treat dry mouth at 5 a.m.

Slap on a sleeping mask. While sleep deprivation won't cause a hangover, it can make your hangover worse, per a study published in Current Drug Abuse Reviews. Incidentally, alcohol disrupts the second part of your sleep, according to a study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, which occurs after the sun rises if you go to sleep particularly late. While you can't control the quality of your sleep after a litty night, you can minimize environmental disruptions with a sleep mask that keeps light out of your eyes.


The Morning After

Chug some Pedialyte. When you’re hungover, you’re generally hella dehydrated because alcohol inhibits your antidiuretic hormone (the one that prevents you from peeing), so hit the bathroom a lot more often, Dr. Swift explains. “Sports drinks and Pedialyte are scientifically formulated to maximize the rate at which the fluid is absorbed,” he says. In other words, you’ll feel better ASAP.

Hit up your fave breakfast place. Here’s exactly what you should order: an omelette with spinach and cheese, home fries, and a glass of OJ, says Leonard. Eggs are high in N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC), which helps your body metabolize alcohol. Similarly, spinach is a good source of Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA)...so are home fries, BTW, which also helps move alcohol through the body. And OJ has vitamin B1, to promote some of that mental clarity you’re prob lacking rn.

Forget the whole "hair of the dog that bit you" thing. Experts agree that it's straight-up stupid to booze it up the morning after heavy drinking. It only delays the inevitable: a hangover that's even worse than the one you've got.

Drink Sprite or seltzer. When researchers at Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China, analyzed the effects of 57 different drinks on alcohol metabolism, they found that the Chinese version of Sprite and regular soda water help speed up the body's alcohol metabolism, which decreases the amount of time your body is exposed to the harmful chemicals produced when your body digests alcohol. 



Avoid herbal teas. In the same Sun Yat-Sen University experiment, researchers found that herbal teas make your body process alcohol more slowly, so your hangover lasts extra long. (Which could seriously drive you to drink.)

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
×