Holidays are all about fun and a little carelessness, and we all love letting it loose once in a while. After coping with our daily routines, we all deserve a nice holiday to rejuvenate and feel fresh again. Talking about holiday hangovers, we usually get one after a night of great fun accompanied by great company and even greater temptations.
A hangover feels awful and exhausting where your head is so heavy that you want to take it off your neck and your eyes just don’t want to see the daylight. But, your holiday hangover doesn’t have to feel as bad as you expect. Knowing the science behind it, a hangover can give you the power to counter its effects.
If you too have had holiday hangovers or are sure to have one this holiday season, then here’s how to get over a holiday hangover.
#1. Do You Really Have A Hangover?
You cannot deal with something unless you know what it is it that’s preventing you from getting back to the normal life again. As much as we know it, your holiday hangover is clinically termed as post-travel depression or PTD. And if you are actually going through PTD or a holiday hangover then you surely have experienced loss of appetite, sadness, nostalgia, restlessness, exhaustion, short temper, post-travel depression, boredom, frustration, existential crisis and the need to go back to the phase of holidays.
Such are the symptoms of a holiday hangover or a PTD. Getting back to your normal life following a holiday hangover can be easy or near to impossible, depending on how you react to the situations at hand. But why does it happen? This is because you felt so at ease and were so happy during holidays that now when you have to return to your daily, boring and meaningless life, it will lead to disappointments and depression. It is natural to happen to anyone and all you need to do is to get over the holiday hangover.
#2. Drink It All
Ahaan.. don’t even look at the bar now, we are talking about WATER. Yes, now that you have a hangover and are trying to get over it, stop thinking about alcohol and start drinking as much water possible to keep yourself hydrated. You might have noticed by now that when you drink alcohol, your urge to pee increases dramatically. That is so because alcohol suppresses the production of vasopressin, an antidiuretic hormone that keeps us from peeing too much. In absence of that hormone, we normally find ourselves urinating more often which dehydrates the body.
Dehydration not only causes loss of fluid but also leads to a significant fall in the number of electrolytes with it. Electrolytes are required, especially by athletes to boost their performance and also to use recover fast from injuries.
Drinking electrolyte-rich water allows the body to quickly rehydrate and requires less consumption, which is a blessing when your hangover has already affected your stomach, and it is in no condition to take a lot of fluid sloshing.
The best way to get over your holiday hangover is to prevent it in the first place, which sounds funny and almost impossible to us too. So, what you can actually do is that you can carry a few bottles of electrolyte water with you to the party and keep drinking from it in between your cocktails.
#3. Talk It Out
Sharing your stories with your friends is the best way to get rid of a holiday hangover. Talking about your recent escapade can be therapeutic and helpful. If you wish to keep the personal information person, then share the fun stories or the events that you feel are worth discussing.
But in case you are looking for people to sympathize with your holiday hangover, you might find it difficult to find them. When you share stories of your vacation, people focus on the good parts and only focus on the fact that you had a holiday, and not on the fact that you’re looking for ways to get over the holiday hangover.
#4. Don’t Eat It All
Let’s not talk about last night when you were just gulping down anything, and everything that came your way and now your head and your poor stomach both just want to blow out. As mentioned above, alcohol leads to loss of electrolytes that causes the fatigue and hungover feeling. If you wish to cure your hangover, search for a banana. Yes, banana is full of potassium which is one of the most important minerals present in the electrolytes. Their bland taste and smooth consistency are great to prevent nausea.
In addition to bananas, cantaloupes and apricots are rich sources of potassium, even better than bananas. You can use an avocado spread on your toast or simply gulp down a banana to help restore the lost potassium from every cell of your body and prevent the fatigue and sluggish feelings.
#5. Yoga Anyone?
Call us heartless for suggesting yoga to get over a hangover, but you will thank us later.
Not all yoga, but some of the restorative yoga techniques are effective to cure a hangover. These restorative exercises help in increasing the fluid circulation and enhancing oxygen-rich blood to the brain.
Focus on a long, deep diaphragmatic breath in these positions; it’ll promote the parasympathetic ‘rest and restore’ aspect of the autonomic nervous system to ease the recovery process.
#6. Let The Transition Be Smooth
An active effort on your part is vital in getting over the holiday hangover and get back into the rhythm of your daily life.
Do not expect the feelings of emotional deflation and distress to occupy your mind immediately after a great vacation. It takes time to hit you that you are back and there’s no more holidaying for you. Instead of feeling sad about the end, change your perspective and be prepared to get back to reality. Brace yourself for your daily routine to embrace you again.
Re-evaluate your commitments. List down your commitments in a journal or planner, if it helps. Writing your commitments down can give you that extra push that you need to get back to work in order to fulfill those commitments.
You love vacations, we love vacations, and everybody loves vacations. Holidays are all about socializing with your loved ones, your friends and do cool stuff together. Going back to work does not mean an end to all of it. You can always manage to go out with your friends or your partner. Keep trying new stuff. Make out time for yourself.
Another best thing about holidays that we miss out on is the FOOD (and the drinking, and the hangovers). Once you plan to get over your holiday hangover, keep yourself from all the party food and focus on working out. Exercising helps in reducing the stress level and the post-travel depression. Take care of yourself and keep your mind busy to avoid feeling sluggish.
#7. Planning The Next One Already?
Bait yourself at work by anticipating another great vacation at the end of the year. But bear in mind that you have to work hard for your holiday to be great. Let your next trip be a reward for a year of great performance and even greater achievements.
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Don’t be scared of your holiday hangovers because this list is sure to cure all of them. You only live once, so why sit back and think about hangovers. We say, instead get one!!
Do you have holiday hangovers too? How do you get over them? Let us know in the comment section below.
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