It’s no surprise that more than half of us will up our alcohol intake this month, according to a survey by alcohol charity Drinkaware.
“As Britons, we’re hardwired to overdo it at Christmas,” said Celia Walden in The Telegraph, “drunkenly hanging onto wall panelling at parties and complaining daily about hangovers” or “avoiding the raucous drunks in reindeer antlers on the bus and skipping over puddles of vomit on your way home”.
If you have ever drunk too much, you will know only too well the consequences. But there are steps you can take to reduce the morning-after pain.
Pace yourself
“The search for alcohol hangover cures is as old as alcohol itself,” said Justin Stebbing, professor of biomedical sciences at Anglia Ruskin University, on The Conversation. Taking a shot of olive oil before drinking has been recently touted as way to prevent hangovers, but the claim “lacks any scientific backing and should be approached with lots of scepticism”.
The body’s “breakdown of alcohol, which involves the liver chemically changing it using its own protein machinery, is the primary cause of hangover symptoms such as dehydration, headaches and nausea”. Something like olive oil would not change this metabolic process.
Better “methods to prevent or mitigate hangovers” include maintaining hydration levels, eating a nutritious meal “rich in protein, fats and complex carbohydrates”, pacing drinks and then replenishing nutrients.
Zebra striping
Drinkers can try the “new” trend of zebra striping. No, not an alternative to leopard print, but the practice of alternating boozy beverages with no/low-alcohol drinks. This is a “newish and buzzy-sounding term for an old and well-worn concept”, said Vogue. It will halve your alcohol intake, and could make the difference between “waking up feeling just fine” or “with a sense of ambient doom and a face like a slightly deflated water balloon”.
And finally, “drink plenty of water before going to sleep and keep a glass by the bed”, advised Drinkaware.
‘Dry Christmas’
For those who want to be sure of avoiding a hangover, “the best way is not to drink”, said DrinkAware.
This Christmas, over three-quarters of young people may opt to drink no alcohol at all. According to a poll of 2,000 adults, 78% of those born after 1996 will be having a “dry Christmas”. “Moderation isn’t impacting people’s enjoyment,” said Brian Perkins, president of Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I, who commissioned the study. “In fact these results reaffirm that we can and do still enjoy ourselves just as much.”
Among older people surveyed, only 6% are considering a dry Christmas. “I’m amazed the figure is that high,” said Celia Walden in The Telegraph. “This year I’d rather pace myself and ‘enjoy’ a little less of it.”