How to recover from a hangover
Hungover? Read our simple guide to find out what works and what doesn’t when you’re trying to recover, and how you can look after your long-term health
If you’ve woken up feeling sick, tired, and with a sore head after drinking alcohol, you probably have a hangover. The only thing that will get rid of your hangover is time, as your body recovers, but there are some things you can do to alleviate the symptoms.
Read on for our guide on safely recovering, as well as the things to avoid and the hangover myths to be aware of.
How to recover from a hangover
Hangovers affect everyone differently, but there are some things you can do to help relieve symptoms if you’re already suffering.
Tackle dehydration
Dehydration can make hangover symptoms worse.1 Drinking plenty of water will help. If you feel sick or have been sick, you may find it hard to drink so start with small sips and then gradually drink more. Keep a glass of water by your bed to sip if you wake up during the night. You could also add a rehydration treatment sachet or a pinch of salt and some sugar to water – they replace lost minerals and salt. But plain water or another soft drink will normally do.2Eat something
As tiredness is normally a symptom of a hangover, eating something can help boost your energy levels.3Coffee’s OK but take care with caffeine
If you’re feeling tired and would like a coffee or tea, it’s absolutely fine to drink a cup the morning after. But if you drink a large amount of very strong coffee, you'll be getting a large dose of caffeine which may cause symptoms such as a fast heart rate or palpitations.4 These can be uncomfortable or unusual, especially on top of other hangover symptoms you are already experiencing.Treat your symptoms, if you need to
You can take two paracetamols to treat a headache when you have a hangover, but regular use of paracetamol may be associated with increased risk of high blood pressure.5Don’t drive
You should never drive if you still have alcohol in your system, or even after the alcohol has left your system but you’re still feeling unwell with a hangover – it’s dangerous.6 It takes an average adult around one hour to process one unit of alcohol. This means that within an hour there should be little or no alcohol left in the blood. However, this varies from person to person and there’s nothing you can do to speed up the process.7
Hangover ‘cures’, hair of the dog, and other myths
The only cure is prevention
If you really want to avoid a hangover, the best way is not to drink. If you do decide to drink, you’re more likely to get one if you drink more than you normally would.8 Drinking less will lower your risk of a hangover.
Given that a large (250ml) glass of wine can typically contain more than three units of alcohol,9 it’s a good idea to drink smaller measures and alternate with water to pace yourself. Switching to an alcohol-free or low alcohol drink could also help you reduce the amount you drink overall.
‘Hair of the dog’ is a myth
Drinking more alcohol will simply 'top up' your blood alcohol level, extending the amount of time you have alcohol in your system. You'll still get a bad hangover, if you are prone to them, once your body is able to get rid of the alcohol from your system.
Routine ‘hair of the dog’ drinking will increase your tolerance to alcohol, meaning you need to drink more to experience the same effect, and increasing your risk of becoming alcohol dependent.10
Exercise with caution
If you decide you want to exercise to ‘sweat it out’, it’s important to drink plenty of water to replace what you sweat, as well as to compensate for the dehydrating effect of the alcohol. Drinking also increases the risk of abnormal, sometimes dangerous heart rhythms.11
Don't forget that both your judgment and balance will very likely still be impaired the morning after a heavy drinking session, so think twice before doing any physical activity that could result in you having an accident.12
There are no miracle cures
Scientific research looking at a range of vitamins and minerals that sellers claim to ‘cure’ a hangover didn’t find any strong evidence that any of them work. You would be better saving your money.13
Looking after your long-term health
If you’ve drunk enough alcohol to have a hangover, you may be drinking in a way that could harm your long-term health. Drinking alcohol is linked to a number of serious health conditions including heart problems, high blood pressure, poor mental health, and seven types of cancer.14
To keep health risks from alcohol low, the UK Chief Medical Officers' (CMOs’) low risk drinking guidelines advise it is safest for men and women not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis.15
It is also advised to never binge drink (more than six units in a single session for women and eight units for men).16 If you binge drink, you are putting your health at risk even if you’re drinking less than 14 units per week.
Next steps
See how your drinks add up
Because alcoholic drinks come in different strengths and sizes, units are a way to tell how strong a particular drink is, use our Unit and Calorie Calculator below to quickly calculate your units.
Curious to find out more about binge drinking?
Drinking a lot, quickly, or drinking to get drunk can have serious consequences for your short- and long-term health.
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Facts
References
[6] Gunn, C., Mackus, M., Griffin, C., Munafò, M.R., Adams, S. (2018). A systematic review of the next-day effects of heavy alcohol consumption on cognitive performance. Addiction,113(12), 2182-2193.
Last Reviewed: 29th July 2026
Next Review due: 29th July 2029