You Can Avoid That NYE Hangover — Here's How to Recover for New Year's Day Festivities
Updated April 10 2020, 3:27 p.m. ET
If you're over the age of 21 and enjoy any occasion to celebrate, there's a pretty likely chance you'll be popping bottles tonight, in honor of New Year's Eve. And while I basically live to celebrate the titular end-of-year holiday, I definitely don't love that nasty hangover afterwards. So, you'll be happy to hear there are several tips and tricks to prevent and cure a hangover.
No, you won't have to completely cut out drinking the night before, and you definitely won't be forced to run a marathon in the morning. So, what helps a hangover? Stay tuned — those next-day headaches and tummy troubles have nothing on you anymore!
What helps a hangover? Brace yourself for some seriously life-changing hangover tips.
You can actually prevent a hangover while you're drinking.
Say what? Yes, you heard that loud and clear, boozy babes — there are steps you can take throughout the evening that will ultimately help prevent a hangover the next morning. According to Healthline, opting for colorless alcoholic beverages like vodka, gin, and rum can decrease the frequency and intensity of hangovers. Darker drinks like whiskey and tequila, on the other hand, might do the opposite.
It's also important to stay hydrated while you're drinking, so make sure to knock back a glass of water in between each alcoholic beverage. Fair warning — you'll be peeing pretty consistently throughout the evening, but trust me: it's incredibly effective, and is basically guaranteed to prevent those day-after aches and pains.
But if that isn't enough, there are several ways to keep your hangover at bay.
Nobody's perfect — you might forget to take those preventative steps, and if you do, that's OK. There are so many ways to fend against that nasty hangover, and it all starts with getting enough sleep. Not only is sleep a natural healer, but according to Everyday Health, feeling well-rested will help mitigate the fatigue and irritability associated with hangovers. So seriously, make sure to catch those Zs on NYD.
Then, when you wake up from that handy-dandy eight hours, you'll definitely want to drink some water (I can't stress the importance of hydration!). After sleeping and drinking water, take a little Advil, eat a hearty breakfast, and maybe consider taking supplements — ginger helps with nausea, and prickly pear extract helps reduce the risk of a hangover by a whopping 50 percent. It's something to consider purchasing if you don't have it in your medicine cabinet.
Seriously guys, what did I tell you? You definitely do not have to cut out drinking on New Year's Eve — by any means — in order to properly enjoy those New Year's Day festivities. Prevention is key, but if you don't get to those preemptive steps ahead of time, having a hangover isn't a death wish — I promise you'll be able to snap out of it before noon. Oh, and if anything, try a Hair of the Dog drink... it could be worth a shot.