Does “Sweating Alcohol Out” Work As A Remedy For Hangovers?

Everyone knows hangovers suck, and so does finding the most effective hangover cure.

Hangovers mess with you right when you wake up, and the particularly nasty ones can ruin the entire day. Any combination of headaches, fogginess, nausea, severe thirst, and achy joints will lower your productivity and increase your grouchiness. Worse still, hangovers seem to get more painful and more common as you get older. Those few drinks that your younger self would’ve downed without hesitation now make you think twice. 

There are about a million different ways to cure or at least help nurse a hangover, ranging from drinking electrolyte-infused drinks such as Hydrant to pricy IV drips. One method, however, is equally debatable as it is popular: sweating out a hangover. But is there any science to support this gritty method? 

Have you ever worked out the day after a heavy night of drinking? You might be in the middle of a set when you begin to smell the familiar sweet scent of alcohol. You look around, wondering if somehow someone is crazy enough to be drinking in the gym. Then you realize it. You’re actually sweating out alcohol.

Your liver can only metabolize the alcoholic equivalent of 12 ounces of beer every hour, so the extra booze is excreted through sweat, urine, and breath. While exercising with alcohol still in your system, your body may sweat more than usual. 

However, dietitians insist sweating out alcohol will not help your hangover. It may even worsen it. As alcohol triggers the kidneys to produce more urine, this reduces the number of fluids your body has. Adding that onto your heightened sweat levels from having too much leftover alcohol, you’ll become dehydrated faster. Basically, you’ll be compounding the effect of your hangover into an even more unpleasant experience.

If it’s only a slight hangover and you want to get a workout in, go for it. But for the tougher, head-pounding ones, skipping the gym is probably in your best interests.

Instead, opt for one (or multiple) of the following hangover cures:

1. Water. Simply put, alcohol causes dehydration by removing fluids from your body. Water replaces those fluids. Go for a glass of H2O after every few drinks, and make sure you drink at least a glass of water before going to bed. However, water isn’t the ultimate cure for hangovers as it contains zero electrolytes. This is where sports drinks come in handy.
   
   
   
2. Sports Drinks. In a similar category to water, sports drinks—the ones filled with electrolytes—will help replenish your body’s salt levels that are depleted due to dehydration from alcohol.
   
   
   
3. High Carb Foods. Bread, crackers, oatmeal are all examples of foods with high carbohydrates. These foods help stabilize your blood sugar levels; improperly balanced sugar levels are often responsible for feelings of fatigue during a hangover.
   
   
   
4. Sleep. The more sleep your body gets, the better. Your liver metabolizes the remaining alcohol in your system and, while your sleep after a night of drinking often isn’t great, you’ll wake up feeling less groggy.
   
   
   
5. IV Bags. Ah, yes. Getting an IV bag infuses your body with a cocktail of fluids and vitamins. While it’ll set your wallet back quite a bit (think around $200), it does leave you feeling refreshed and rid of that pesky hangover.
   
   
   
6. Hydrant. A simple, tasty, and effective solution, Hydrant rehydrates your body with fluids as well as electrolytes, helping you conquer your hangover in an effective (and cheap!) way. Try some today, your future self will thank you.