What helps a hangover?

Nothing cures a hangover: only time ends one. While you wait, a few things ease the symptoms. Sleep helps the fatigue, water helps thirst, bland carbs like toast or crackers and an antacid help a queasy stomach, and ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin, used sparingly, can ease a headache, though they can irritate a stomach alcohol has already irritated. Avoid acetaminophen (Tylenol), which with alcohol can harm the liver. No pill, supplement, electrolyte drink, IV drip or morning drink has good evidence behind it. The remedy with the best evidence is drinking less next time.

You cannot. NIAAA says there is no cure for a hangover other than time: the body has to finish clearing the byproducts of alcohol, rehydrate and heal. What you can do is ease the symptoms while it runs its course with sleep, fluids, bland food, an antacid for the stomach and, sparingly, an anti-inflammatory pain reliever.

There is no fast way. NIAAA says nothing speeds up the brain's recovery from alcohol, and coffee, a shower or a morning drink will not end a hangover. Most end 14 to 23 hours after the last drink; see how long a hangover lasts. Until then, sleep, water, bland food and an antacid ease the worst of it.

Small, frequent sips of clear liquids, bland carbohydrates such as toast or crackers, and an antacid. Alcohol irritates the stomach lining and increases acid, so skip ibuprofen and aspirin while your stomach is upset: they do the same. Vomiting with confusion, slow or irregular breathing, or someone who cannot be woken is alcohol poisoning: call 911.

Usually no longer than the hangover itself, which most often ends 14 to 23 hours after the last drink. In a survey of 727 drinkers, about 1 in 5 hangovers (21.8%) got worse before getting better, and those came with more stomach trouble. Get medical care if vomiting lasts more than 24 hours, or you cannot keep fluids down for 12 hours.

Water, rest, and if you need one, an anti-inflammatory pain reliever such as ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin, used sparingly because they can irritate the stomach. Avoid acetaminophen (Tylenol) with alcohol in your system. If you drink coffee every day, skipping it can add a caffeine-withdrawal headache, so your usual cup is reasonable; it will not cure the hangover. People who are sensitive to sulfites can also get a headache from wine.

It is best avoided. NIAAA warns that the combination of alcohol and acetaminophen (the drug in Tylenol) can be toxic to the liver, and Cleveland Clinic advises avoiding it for a hangover. That includes taking it at bedtime after drinking to head off the morning.

It can ease a headache and muscle aches, but it has a catch. Ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin, like alcohol itself, increase stomach acid and can irritate the stomach lining. Cleveland Clinic suggests using them sparingly, and NIAAA says to proceed with caution when taking them before or after drinking.

They count as fluids, and fluids help with thirst. The electrolytes are not what helps: research has not found that electrolyte loss tracks how bad a hangover is, or that added electrolytes change it, and in most people the body restores its balance quickly on its own.

There is no good evidence that they do. IV treatments are sold to fix the electrolyte imbalance from drinking, but NIAAA notes that research has found no link between electrolyte disruption and hangover severity, and no effect of added electrolytes on it.

It will not cure one; NIAAA lists coffee among the myths. If you are a daily coffee drinker, though, your usual cup can stop a caffeine-withdrawal headache from piling on: in experiments, about half of people who skipped caffeine got a headache, starting 12 to 24 hours after the last dose.

Not in a way that helps. A morning drink might blunt some symptoms for a while, but NIAAA says it could add to and prolong the hangover. It also puts more alcohol in your blood when attention and coordination are already impaired.

Bland food with complex carbohydrates, such as toast or crackers. Cleveland Clinic says it helps steady blood sugar, which alcohol can lower, and reduces nausea. Broth counts toward fluids too. In one small trial, Korean pear juice lowered hangover scores slightly more than placebo (41.5% vs 33.3%), but a review rated that evidence very low quality.

None is proven. A 2021 review of 82 hangover products found no peer-reviewed human data showing any of them was safe or effective, and 62% contained vitamins above the recommended daily intake. A 2022 review of 21 trials found only very low quality evidence for any ingredient, with no two trials testing the same thing. Two trials of NAC found no overall benefit.

Drink less: it is the only sure way. Beyond that, eat before you drink, keep to about one drink an hour, alternate with water, sip fizzy drinks slowly and choose lighter drinks with fewer congeners, such as vodka over bourbon. Our Hangover Index ranks every type of drink.

No. In a 2019 trial, 90 adults drank beer then wine, wine then beer, or only one of them, and neither the type nor the order changed how bad the hangover was. How drunk people felt, and whether they vomited, predicted it best. NIAAA agrees: the more you drink, the worse the hangover, whatever the order.