Thanksgiving is finally here! Between stuffing your face with turkey and avoiding your great aunt’s questions about your love life, you’ll have enough on your mind. Adding a hangover to the mix is a sure way to ruin your Thanksgiving. Tonight when you’re out catching up with hometown friends and reliving the glory days, remember keep these tips in mind to avoid a Thanksgiving hangover.
- Eat, drink, and be responsible. Before you go out tonight, make sure you eat a full meal and have plenty of water. This won’t prevent you from getting drunk, but it’s never a good idea to drink on an empty stomach.
- Stick with clear alcohol. The order of drinking (beer before liquor etc.) matters less than the kind of alcohol you drink. Dark liquors and red wine have a significant amount of cogeners, which are substances produced during fermentation. Cogeners have been shown to contribute to hangovers. So think before you order that third whiskey & coke.
- Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. For every alcoholic beverage, drink a glass of water—or at least a non-alcoholic beverage. This will not only help you hydrate, but it will make you pace yourself. When you get home for the night, make sure to drink some water or a rehydrating sports drink like Gatorade.
- Get some sleep. If you go a little bit overboard at the bar, try to get a good night’s sleep in before you have to wake up and be presentable.
- Take countermeasures. If you wake up with a hangover, it’s too late to turn back. Hopping in the shower won’t sober you up, but it can help clear the fog. Plus, you don’t want to show up to Thanksgiving dinner with last night’s beer in your hair. Try Alka-Seltzer’s Morning Relief, which combines caffeine and aspirin with a yummy citrus fizz to help your stomach.
Thanksgiving is a great time to reunite with family and friends, but you’ll be even more thankful if you’re not hung over when they carve the turkey.