With the bank holiday weekend ahead and glorious hot weather all weekend many of us may be more tempted to find a local beer garden, or sit outside with an alcoholic drink whilst enjoying a BBQ, in fact, searches for “beer garden near me” even saw an 87% increase in last 7 days. However, the heat is proven to make hangovers much worse.
A recent survey, conducted by thortful, has revealed that our hangovers get worse when we turn 34[1], so to ensure hangovers are kept light during this bank holiday weekend, thortful have teamed up with Dr Deborah Lee of Dr Fox Pharmacy to offer some tips on how to cure a hangover.
Explaining how the heat can make our hangovers worse, Dr Deborah Lee says, “Alcohol and heat don’t mix. Both cause dehydration. Sitting in the sun leads to your body overheating, and in effort to cool down, you sweat more. Also, alcohol is a powerful diuretic. If you have 4 drinks this will cause you to pass one litre of urine over the next 4 hours. To avoid both heatstroke and a hangover, you must drink copious amounts of water. Drink a large glass of water with each alcoholic drink and keep topping up the water.
“Think about what you are drinking. It can be tempting to knock back the drinks when it’s hot and sunny, but if you have a whole day ahead of you, pace yourself. Choose your drinks wisely, for example, bubbly drinks like champagne and prosecco help you get drunk more quickly – so avoid them. Perhaps dilute wine with soda water and have a spritzer. Add ice cubes to wine and other drinks.”
How to treat a hangover:
Drink a bottle of water before you get into bed and as soon as you wake up.
Have some Dioralyte sachets as they contain electrolytes and may help to restore your electrolyte balance more quickly.
Have a good breakfast to help raise your blood sugar levels.
Think twice about coffee as caffeine could make your headache worse.
Make sure after drinking you get plenty of sleep.
Get some fresh air and have a brisk walk.
Don’t smoke, smokers tend to have more severe hangovers than non-smokers.
If you’re planning on drinking alcohol in the sun, here’s how to prevent your hangover:
How to prevent a hangover:
Drink responsibly and stay within recommended limits.
Never drink on an empty stomach – always drink with food. Eating fatty foods can help delay the absorption of alcohol. Foods with a high water content can also be good, such as melon, cucumber, apples and peaches.
Don’t let yourself get too hot. Avoid sitting in direct sunlight in hottest part of the day – between 12 and 3pm. Sit in the shade, wear a sun hat and keep cool.
Drink plenty of water – drink one glass of water for each alcoholic drink.
Drink slowly and savour your drinks. This will help you drink less overall.
Say no to fizzy drinks because bubbles speed up the absorption of alcohol.
Avoid dark-coloured drinks, such as dark-coloured spirits and red wine, as these often contain large amounts of congeners – substances are produced during the fermentation process.
Don’t mix your drinks.
Drink mindfully. The summer is a good time to focus on mindful drinking – this is planning what you want to drink and when.
Adding to this, Dr Deborah Lee says, “In general, I would not advise drinking alcohol in the sun. If you want to do it, drink low-alcohol, or diluted alcoholic drinks, interspersed with copious amounts of water. If you feel you are getting too hot, retreat to the shade and don’t allow heat exhaustion to set in. Stop drinking when you feel the warning signs – don’t carry on drinking throwing caution to the wind.
“Both heat exhaustion, and hangovers are unpleasant conditions, and without doubt, the heat is likely to make hangover symptoms worse.
“If you are with a friend or family member who has been drinking and has signs of heat exhaustion – take them to a cool place, lie them down on their side (in case they vomit) and elevate their legs slightly. Apply a cold towel, or some cold ice packs to their groins and armpits. Put them under a fan. Get them to drink iced water. If they are not showing signs of recovery within 30 minutes, phone 999.”
