Top 10 Freshers Week Hangover Survival Tips

You’ve done it again. One turned into a couple, a couple turned into a few, a few turned into rolling in at 5am, kebab in one hand and a pair of shoes in the other.

Everyone goes out with the best intentions. You have an important lecture in the morning, with just a handful of hours left to rest and self-loathe. You hate your 9pm-self for doing it again – but that will get you nowhere.

Now you’re on your own. You’re an adult, after all, but help is needed. Fast.

Here are 10 tried and tested tips for those days you can’t afford to be hungover.

1) Don’t Drink

It’s obvious: don’t drink! Or at least drink less. That’s not going to happen though, is it? Maybe next time stick to lighter poisons like vodka and gin. Darker coloured drinks tend to have more congeners, which, according to Google, make hangovers worst. Science.

2.) Fatten up before you flatten out

Grease-up before. Line your stomach with a fatty feast of oily goodness. Think pizza, fried chicken, fish and chips, cheese with extra cheese and burgers. You could try drinking a glass of milk beforehand or – for the real hardcore hangover dodgers – a shot of olive oil.

3.) Water breaks

It might not be cool, but neither is spooning the toilet after a heavy night, crying out for your mother as your flatmates archive this horrendous memory in Snapchat story history. A bit extreme, but a glass of water between drinks can be a hydration saviour. You could even opt for a flavoured tonic without the spirit; no-one would even know.

4.) IV vitamin drip, everyone’s doing it, apparently

But forget the beforehand tips. You don’t have a time machine. You need help NOW. If you’re rich, a celebrity or someone with more than 100,000 Insta followers, the IV drip is the elite’s version of a large Maccies coke. A fountain of life for the influencer generation – but you are a student. Maybe this isn’t a choice for you, just yet.

5.) The old classic breakfast

For all you real people, this is your IV drip. Grilled bacon, succulent sausage, yolky eggs, creamy mushrooms and a fried sliced of bread. Your arteries won’t thank you, but the rest of your body will rejoice. Don’t go mainlining baked beans, though.

6.) Admit defeat, you coward

Right, so you have missed your first lecture. Don’t worry. The notes will be online at some point anyway. It’s time to accept the hangover has you in its grips. Relax. For the next eight or so hours, the world is yours. Netflix is your only responsibility for the day.

7.) Hair Of The Dog, you alcoholic

The hair of the dog that bit you. You can either grab it by the nuts or run as far away as possible. Bloody Marys seem to be the reality TV star’s choice. That proves this isn’t a smart move. Let the hangover run its course. If you choose to carry-on, it’ll only bite you harder in the end.

8.) McDonald’s medicine

It was mentioned before, but that proves its power. Nothing hits better than a cold cup of
McDonald’s Coca-Cola. But surely you won’t get a coke on its own? Throw-in some nuggets, maybe some large fries. McFlurry? Why not. Calories don’t count when you’re hungover.

9.) Get out and get moving, honestly

This is for the hardcore. It does work, though. Light exercise such as walking, turning the kettle on, or opening the fridge can get the blood pumping and rid your body of last night’s pleasure debt. You could even double-up on the insanity by taking a cold shower to replenish some red blood cells, I think. Each to their own.

10.) The biggest take-away your pocket can afford

It’s an unwritten rule that whatever’s left in your pocket after a night out goes on food the next day. Whether that’s £5 or £50. It’s a lucky dip that can decide the outlook of your day. Make it your reward. Your mission. Make it to the lecture and treat yourself with the burger van outside. No hungover person can survive on frozen pizza alone.

Secure your first university hangover with the biggest freshers events here.