The Morning After
10 Things That Actually Help the Morning After
No miracle cures, because there aren't any. Just the things that make the day genuinely more bearable, the two that are worth being careful with, and the one myth that needs to die.
Let's start honest. Nothing cures a hangover. Time does the work, and everything below is about making the waiting less grim.
That is not a downgrade. Half of feeling rough the morning after is dehydration, disrupted sleep and low blood sugar, and those three you can genuinely do something about. So here is the list, in the order we'd actually do them.
01Water, before anything else
Boring, and first on the list for a reason. Alcohol suppresses the hormone that tells your kidneys to hold onto water, which is why you spent half the night in the loo and woke up with a mouth like a sandpit.
Start with a pint of water before coffee, before food, before you've even properly opened your eyes. Add a pinch of salt or an electrolyte tab if you have one to hand. Then keep sipping through the morning rather than downing a litre in one go, which mostly just goes straight through you.
02Eat something, and don't overthink it
The full English has earned its reputation. Not because grease absorbs anything, it doesn't, but because after a night of drinking your blood sugar is on the floor and a proper plate of food fixes that faster than willpower does.
Eggs, toast, beans, a banana, whatever you'll actually eat. Carbs and protein together. If your stomach is refusing to cooperate, start with something plain and build up, and don't force it.
03Coffee, with one caveat
Coffee will make you feel more awake and it will take the edge off a caffeine-withdrawal headache if you're a regular drinker. Both real, both useful.
The caveat is that it won't rehydrate you and on an empty, unhappy stomach it can make things worse. Water first, food second, coffee third. In that order it's a genuine help. As the opening move it's a bit of a gamble.
04Get outside and move gently
Not a workout. A walk. Twenty minutes of daylight and fresh air does more for how you feel than an hour of lying still convincing yourself you're dying.
Skip the heavy session. You're dehydrated and your body is already working through last night. Sweating hard doesn't clear alcohol out any faster, that's a myth, and it just digs the dehydration deeper. Save the gym for tomorrow.
05Heat, handled properly
A warm shower is genuinely one of the better twenty-minute investments available to you. It loosens everything up, it wakes you up, and it makes you feel like a person again.
The sauna is a different story. Finnish sauna guidance is explicit about not using one after drinking. Heat drops your blood pressure and pulls more fluid out of you, and alcohol has already done both of those things. It's the combination behind a meaningful share of sauna-related incidents. Leave it a day, drink plenty of water first, and never go in alone if you've been drinking.
06Sleep, if you can get it
Alcohol knocks you out fast and then wrecks the second half of the night, so even eight hours in bed usually means far less actual rest than that. A lot of what you're feeling is straightforward sleep deprivation.
If you can go back to sleep, go back to sleep. If you can't, a twenty to thirty minute nap in the afternoon beats a three hour one that leaves you groggy and ruins tonight as well.
07Fruit, because it's water with a job
Oranges, pineapple, kiwi, watermelon, berries. Mostly water, easy on a fragile stomach, and they get some sugar into you without the crash of something processed.
Blend it if chewing feels like too much. This one is less about any particular nutrient and more about the fact that it's the easiest food in the house to get down when nothing else appeals.
08Slow your breathing down
The morning-after anxiety spiral is a real thing and it has a name people use freely. Slow breathing is the cheapest, fastest tool for it.
Box breathing does the job with no fuss. In for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four. Five minutes of it is enough to take the edge off. Keep it gentle.
Skip the hyperventilation methods. The cyclical fast-breathing techniques that do the rounds online can cause fainting, and people have drowned doing them near water. Never in a bath, a pool or the sea, and not while you're dehydrated. Slow breathing gets you the same calm with none of that.
09Lower the stakes on your day
Bad telly. A long phone call. The group chat picking over the night in forensic detail. None of it is medicine, but it moves the day along, and dread makes a hangover feel considerably worse than it is.
Cancel what can be cancelled. Whatever's left, do the easiest thing first.
10Plan the next one better
This is the only one on the list that happens before the night rather than after it, and it's the one that makes the most difference.
Eat properly before you go out. Alternate drinks with water. Set the last drink earlier than you think you need to. And take your two AfterGLOW® capsules with a glass of water before you head out, after a meal, which is exactly how they're meant to be used.
Thirteen actives in one purple capsule, at £1.06 a night on the Festival Pouch.
B Vitamins
Contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
Zinc
Contributes to normal cognitive function and to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.
Vitamin D
Contributes to the normal function of the immune system and to the maintenance of normal muscle function.
NAC, alpha lipoic acid and green tea extract are in the formula at meaningful doses. No authorised GB health claim exists for these, so we make none. Full doses and NRVs are published on our Good Stuff page.
Nothing on this list is a cure. The one that helps most is the one you do the night before.
The short version
- Water first, then food, then coffee. That order matters
- A walk, not a workout. You can't sweat it out
- Warm shower yes, sauna no, not the same day as drinking
- Nap for thirty minutes, not for three hours
- Box breathing for the jitters, nothing more intense than that
- The real work happens before you go out, not after
Good questions
Does a fry-up actually help?
Not by soaking anything up, which is the usual explanation and isn't how it works. It helps because your blood sugar is low after a night of drinking and a proper meal brings it back up. Any decent plate of carbs and protein does the same job.
Can you sweat out a hangover?
No. Alcohol is cleared by your liver, and only a negligible amount leaves through sweat. Hard exercise while dehydrated makes you feel worse, not better. A gentle walk is the useful version.
Is a sauna safe when hungover?
It's best avoided. Alcohol dehydrates you and lowers blood pressure, and heat exposure does both again on top. Finnish sauna safety guidance advises against sauna use after drinking. Leave it until the following day, hydrate first, and never go in alone.
When should I take AfterGLOW®?
Two capsules with a glass of water before you go out, ideally after a meal. Do not exceed the stated serving size of three capsules per day.
How long does a hangover last?
Usually up to 24 hours from when your blood alcohol returns to zero, though it varies a lot between people. If symptoms are severe, or include confusion, repeated vomiting or breathing difficulty, that needs medical attention rather than a list of tips.
Sort out next Saturday
Two capsules before you go out. Sixteen nights covered. Every dose on the label.
Shop the Festival Pouch £16.99 · 32 capsules · £1.06 a nightThis article is general information, not medical advice. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Do not exceed the stated serving size. Not intended for use by children or pregnant women. If you are taking medication or under medical supervision, consult your GP first. Please drink responsibly and stay within the UK Chief Medical Officers' low risk guideline of no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days.