It’s not unusual to wake up with a hangover. But what should you do if that means unpleasant feelings like nausea, dizziness, or headache? Does tea help a hangover? It sounds counterintuitive, but the best time to drink a hangover tea is before you go out drinking. And not just any drink of water — we’re talking about specific herbal concoctions that are designed for the express purpose of helping you avoid those nasty morning-after symptoms!
Luckily for your throbbing head and unsteady stomach there are plenty of companies on the market who make alcohol-free hangover teas. With such a variety to choose from it pays to do some research and experiment with different brands until you find what works best for your particular body chemistry.
1. Drink Tea Before the Party
Drinking tea before the party isn’t an excuse to avoid drinking alcohol. You’ll still enjoy yourself but be able to have more fun and less of a hangover the next day. Drinking tea before partying will not only help you avoid being hungover, it can also help you with your liquor tolerance. If you’ve ever had a drink and didn’t feel anything as if it wasn’t doing anything to you, that’s probably because your body has become accustomed to your blood alcohol levels through repeated exposure.
2. Consult Your Favorite Ingredients
There are a variety of herbs that are used to make hangover teas, so you may want to experiment with a few different brands until you find one that has ingredients you like. Some of the herbs you will commonly find in hangover treatments include:
Ginger – Ginger is well known for its ability to calm the stomach and fight nausea. Peppermint – Peppermint can help with the migraine associated with being hungover by acting as a cooling agent on your head. Green tea – Green tea contains L-theanine, which can act as an antidepressant by stopping feelings of anxiety and stress.
There are also hangover teas with more exotic ingredients like fennel, parsley, and basil. Some of these herbs can be used internally as well as externally.
3. Drink the Right Amount
To determine how much tea to drink before a party it is helpful to know your average alcohol tolerance . After drinking, you can measure out a full cup and make sure you drink it all so that your cat doesn’t get upset. If you start to feel uncomfortable or nauseated after drinking too much liquor in one sitting, then cut back on your intake for the remainder of the night or day depending on how much you drank and how often that’s happening.
4. It’s Okay to Drink Water
Drinking water is never wrong, but there are actually some health benefits drinking water can provide even when you’re hungover. Drinking enough water can help your body absorb certain nutrients that can help with food digestion and absorption as well as speed up the healing process . Prolonged dehydration can also lead to a weakened immune system and a decreased level of energy.
5. Take it With Food
Since tea is intended to be drunk with food, it will make sense to take your hangover tea as part of a meal that contains protein to help with digestion. Also, if you skip lunch it may not fully kick in until dinner time. And don’t forget to be extra careful with your alcohol intake when taking a hangover tea, since mixing alcohol and herbal concoctions can sometimes make you feel worse.
6. Prevent the After Party
As if the morning after a night of binge drinking isn’t bad enough, there’s usually still one more day to go by before you start feeling like yourself again. A lot of people decide to continue drinking after a party just because they’re too tired to go home or they don’t want to miss out on the fun. If you really don’t have the energy or desire to drink after a night out then try drinking water or another non-alcoholic beverage. If people think you’re weird for not drinking, then that’s their problem, not yours.
7. If All Else Fails
It may be hard to imagine a hangover tea helping with your symptoms, but there are plenty of people who swear that it works for them. Just make sure to follow the directions for the product that you buy and don’t drink too much of it at once because any amount of alcohol can be harmful even in small doses.
8. If You’re Sure It’s a Hangover
After a night of drinking, the last thing you want to do the next morning is drink more so make sure it’s not something else like food poisoning that causes your symptoms. If you’ve already had too much alcohol, then it’s probably best to lay off for a day or two before trying again. Drinking hangover tea can only help the symptoms that are due to being hungover, so don’t use it as an excuse to drink excessively.
9. Once Your Symptoms Are Better
If you notice that your bad hangover symptoms have lessened over time and have stopped altogether, then chances are it was just a simple case of exhaustion, dehydration and/or dehydration from excessive alcohol intake. If these symptoms persist please see a doctor.
10. Drink Water Other than Alcohol Once You’ve Had Your Fix
The key to getting over your hangover is to drink water until you’re feeling better. Most people just need to drink a few glasses of water, but it can be more if you have an extreme version of a hangover.
