Fitness 101: How safe is working out during a hangover?

Sneha Biswas | Apr 7, 2020, 14:18 IST
You spent your entire night chugging on all different kinds of happy juices from the bar and probably danced your heart out on the floor. You have had the best of your time with your pals, but only to wake up with a bad hangover. A raging body ache, headache, dry mouth, churning stomach is all you could feel the next day. Sounds similar? As much fun as a night of drinking can be, nobody likes to face the hangover that can easily hamper your entire day. While there are so many popular remedies that claim to cure the drinking aftermath, including exercising. But, the question lies, how safe it is to hit the gym in such low energy levels. According to fitness experts, moving your body can help you to recover from hangover-as long as you do so safely.

Consumption of alcohol tends to dehydrate your body. One must drink plenty of water right after waking up with a hangover. You can opt for fluids with electrolytes to recharge your body for the exercise.

Once you are up, give yourself some time before you start picking up those dumbbells. Look for signs of dizziness or nausea, and then only think whether you can exercise or not. You must only think about exercising if you are no more drunk and fully re-hydrated. Otherwise, it is best to eat some food and drink loads of water and take a nap instead of exercising. Exercising without metabolising alcohol can increase your heart rate, headache and intensify dizziness.

Once you’re sure that physically you are fine, one must eat something simple to soothe your stomach from the irritation due to alcohol. A whole-grain toast, oatmeal or banana shake is great to fuel up your body. Avoiding caffeine is ideal.

One must also avoid taking hangover meds if you’re considering to exercise. Compounds like ibuprofen or acetaminophen before working out can affect the body's health.

Most importantly, one must keep it light when it comes to exercising during a hangover. Simple stretches and even yoga postures are beneficial to release tensions from the muscles. Running a marathon, doing squats and heavy cardio routines are a big no-no. Something as simple as walking, gentle swimming or any workout that ensures slow movement of body parts is relatively safe. Alongside this, you must keep sipping water.

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