The Morning After

Kate M. Serrano

Hangovers. Whether you are headed to happy hour, a friend’s wedding or a party, sipping your spirits can get uncontrollable and haunt you the next morning. No expert has ever recommended overindulging in alcohol. Heavy drinking rocks the central nervous system. This translates to the headache and dizziness that sends you running to the bathroom so often that you become dehydrated.

Unknown to most, women are more likely to feel the effects of a hangover. It’s because men have higher percentage of water in their body that helps dilute the alcohol. So for girls, never ever go crazy over the free drinks on Ladies’ Night. Having a non-alcoholic drink in between each beer can help keep your body hydrated and cut down your overall alcohol intake. Or you can hit the rocks – order drinks that are on-the-rocks. As the ice melts, the drink is diluted. That’s lesser alcohol for you.

Eating pasta before bed is a myth many believe that could prevent hangovers. Wrong. Food has to be in your stomach before Happy Hour. And while food slows down how fast the body absorbs alcohol, fat does a better job at it. So why not go for pizza before your first mojito? And while at it, having a conversation is an easy way to pace your drinking. By putting your mouth to work, the rate of booze hitting the blood stream is lowered down.

More alcohol in the morning is another myth that needs to be busted. It does nothing more than postpone a hangover. If you have a martini at breakfast, the hangover might just come later in the day. Coffee too leads to more dehydration and may just make the hangover worse. It’s best to avoid caffeine after a night of drunkenness; water and sports drinks can counter dehydration. If you can’t function without a wake-up cocktail or five cups of coffee, it may just be time to call your doctor.

Too much of something can always go bad and there is a price for partying hard. With the decision to drink comes the responsibility to stay safe.

Have you been partying responsibly? If so, let’s drink to that!