It seems like everywhere you turn these days, people are talking about ways to cure a hangover. Some are old standbys, like drinking a Bloody Mary, sleeping a hangover off and eating a big, greasy breakfast. In recent years, I have gone from trying to cure a hangover, to trying to prevent one before it ever occurs.

Instead of waking up feeling awful and dealing with my hangover all day in misery, I try to stop it before it has a chance to ruin my morning. Below are some of the best ways to prevent a hangover from occurring while still having fun during a night on the town.



1. Don't get drunk. Okay, this is an obvious one, but it's a lot easier on paper than in actual practice. Try not to drink so much on a Friday night, and stick to beer whenever possible. Liquor can sneak up on you, especially when mixed with sugary juices, so you really don't have a gauge on how much alcohol you are consuming. Alcohol also dulls your senses, so once you get a buzz going, your ability to keep tabs on how much alcohol you have consumed is essentially non-existent.

2. Water before bed. Dehydration is a huge cause of a hangover. Your body loses a ton of water when you drink alcohol, which is a diaretic and causes you to have to urinate a lot more than you normally would. Drinking as much water as possible before bed prevents the morning after headache and extreme thirst. The reason you have a headache after drinking is primarily because your body takes stored water from your brain to replace what alcohol takes away from other organs, making your head feel like it is being squeezed with a vice the next morning. Always try to drink a glass of water before bed. A sports drink would also help if you need some flavor and will also help to replenish your body with lost electrolytes. Combine this with a good B vitamin complex for when you really need a complete hangover cure.

3. Eat some bread before bed. Again, the goal here is to prevent a hangover. Usually when I go out, I spend several hours drinking but I usually don't eat anything of much substance. Thus, my stomach is turning flips from all the alcohol in it with no food to soak it up. If you can stomach it, a piece of bread before you go to bed really helps out in the morning. Oatmeal will also help. Avoid eating spicy foods and stick to the basics.

4. Electrolytes. When you drink, your body loses a lot more than just water. Try replacing the nutrients lost to alcohol by eating a nutrient rich food like a banana, nature's multi-vitamin, before bed. This makes a world of difference in the morning for me.

Combine any of these suggestions and you should feel much better than you would without them after a night of drinking. Why cure a hangover when you can prevent one before it even happens!

If you still wake up with a hangover?  ~  Taken all the advice above and still feel like someone's dropped a ton of concrete on your head?

Well here's what to do (and what not too do) to make yourself feel a tad better... Here you go loads of good hangover cures to suggest.