The holiday season is in full swing, and so far, you’ve been owning it, hitting up more office parties, boozy family dinners, and friendly get togethers than you care to count—always with a beer or cocktail in hand, of course. But with the main event (we're talking New Years Eve) still looming ahead, you're surely gearing up to throw down one last time before you start sticking to those fitness resolutions, right?
And while New Year's eve might be one massive celebration, the way you feel the next morning can be anything but. Yes, we’re talking about the dreaded hangover—the headache, the nausea, the “I can’t get out of bed today” feeling. “Hangovers are caused by consuming more alcohol than your body can handle,” says Jim Schaefer, Ph. D., a professor of anthropology at Union College who studies alcohol metabolism. “And unfortunately, especially during this time of year, not everyone is willing to stick to their limit."
So if you’re one of those people who enjoys pushing it past the one-drink-per-hour standard, here are some factors that might make or break your morning after. Avoid them—and you won't start the year scrambling for a hangover cure.
You only smoke when you’re drinking, right? Well, here’s extra incentive to drop the habit. In a study of college students published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, participants who smoked and consumed alcohol in the same day were more likely to report suffering from worse hangovers. So think twice before you light up next time…or pay the painful morning-after price.
Yes, you may think eating super-clean and low-fat before a night out is a good idea—you are trying to balance the booze’s extra carbs and cals, after all. But it turns out that you might be better off adding some fat to your meal. “Fatty foods in particular stick to the stomach lining longer, slowing down the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream,” says Tammy Lakatos Shames, R.D., co-author of The Secret To Skinny. Now this doesn't mean you need to chow down on a cheesesteak and fries; healthy fats do the trick too. So try having salmon and sautéed vegetables or a turkey sandwich with avocado as your pre-party dinner.
Though you may prefer Guinness to Bud Light or Bourbon to vodka, research has found that your body may not. Dark beers, wines, and liquors all get their color from something called congeners, which are the byproducts from fermentation and distillation. ““The color is basically a chemical soup," says Dr. Schaefer, "and your body has to process the chemicals on top of the alcohol— that means it takes longer to get them out of your system." Enter headache and nausea.
Almost any kind of mixer is putting sugar or carbonation into your system, which can lead to bloating. And bloating, in turn (stick with us here), causes your stomach to empty faster—which means you’re absorbing alcohol sooner and feeling the effects faster, says Dr. Schaefer. This causes a higher alcohol level and also amps up dehydration, which means—you got it—a bad hangover the next day. So instead of mixing with soda, try having your drink with water or on the rocks.
You might think taking an OTC pain reliever on the night of a party is a smooth move—like it’s an insurance policy against that next-day headache. But “acetaminophen can cause severe damage to your liver when consumed with alcohol,” says Dr. Schaefer. “Your liver has to process both the pain reliever and the alcohol, so the process takes longer.” In other words, you're not only putting your body in danger—but you’ll also be feeling the effects of all that alcohol well into the next morning.
Hopefully you haven't been picking happy hour over your workout lately. Why? Exercising can actually benefit you when it comes to alcohol consumption. “More muscular individuals can take in more alcohol than those who aren’t as fit because they have more water in their body, says Dr. Schaefer. “It’s like pouring liquor into a bigger body of water—those who don’t work out will feel the effects faster.” Please note: we’re not saying that because you work out, you should drink more. Just keep in mind that if your body can handle alcohol better—your day-after experience might not be as unpleasant.