hangovers, stressful

Dear Reader,

Okay, you’re either hung over, searching for some hangover helpers, or both.  There’s an effective hangover/stress prevention strategy that doesn’t get nearly as much airtime as chugging water and eating while drinking, taking pain relievers before you go to sleep, and having another drink the next morning.  It’s knowing the answer to this question: “What’s your drink number?”

You know that bed commercial which asks you your “sleep number” so that you can adjust the firmness of its mattress to better ensure a good night’s sleep?  Well, converted for alcohol, “What’s your drink number?” wants to know how many drinks better ensure that you’ll wake up without a hangover the day after a cocktail or frat party.  You may have different drink numbers depending on what you consume, how fast you drink, medications you’re taking and other factors.  If you drink in part or whole for alcohol’s mind-altering effects, you may be surprised to find that your drink numbers will still give you some or all of those desired outcomes.  Many of us never calculate our drink numbers and we often think we need more drink than we do to get sufficiently buzzed or even bombed.  A 20-something bartender recently told me that hangovers are his biggest stressor and was eager to try this simple strategy that had never crossed his sober mind.

When you’ve got your drink numbers, you of course need to set them to prevent the fatigue-fueling, sleep-robbing, puke-promoting, accident-stimulating, performance-screwing and class-cutting impact of hangovers.  Best time to enter your drink number is before you start drinking.  Commit yourself not to exceed your number, write it on your hand or breast cancer bracelet as a reminder, or better yet, tell a friend and fellow partier that you would like her/his help holding to that number.  This last technique is especially helpful when you can’t recall how many drinks you’ve already had—a sure sign that you’ve probably blown your self-imposed limit.

Cheers,

Les
1/08