Birthday party, leaving do, pub crawl or having one too many at the campsite before a hike, happens to the best of us. Even though the following morning, all you want to do is sleeping the hangover away, you’ve got to get up, lace up those boots and hit the trails. So how to go hiking with a hangover and still enjoy the day. Here are 7 tips to help you not regret (too much) the night before.
Hiking on 15th July, the day after Bastille Day (French National Day for those who don’t know), was not the best idea for a Frenchy like me. I remember saying to myself: “this is the last drink… this is the last drink…” And guess what? It was not the last one.
Sounds familiar?
Don’t worry! Here are 7 tips for hiking with a hangover without feeling guilty.
What is a hangover?
Before we dive into the tips for hiking with a hangover, let’s understand what a hangover is so that we can better deal with it.
Symptoms
According to Wikipedia, a hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological symptoms following the consumption of alcohol.
The most common symptoms are :
- Headache
- Stomachache
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Dry mouth
- Dehydration
- In some cases, vomiting
Cure
Sadly, there is no “magic” cure for hangovers. Even though you can catch wind of tons of homemade hangover cure recipes, there is no proven method or medication that cures hangovers.
The only way not to suffer from it is simply not to consume alcohol.
Consequences of a hangover
Other than the symptoms described above, suffering from a hangover can affect your ability to hike in the following way:
Coordination and balance. When you have a hangover, you are slower and don’t react as fast as you usually do. This can be a problem when hiking in nature where branches, roots, rocks and other hazards can be found on your way. It can be the cause of bad falls and injuries such as a sprained ankle.
Negative mood. As you are in pain, you are not in your best mindset. Additionally, some of the psychological symptoms of a hangover as anxiety and stress. All of them mixed together and you become the burden of the hiking group! Not a nice role to have.
Feeling more exhausted. Research has shown that you can hike with a hangover, however, you end the hike more depleted than your hiking buddies who have been reasonable the night before. This is mainly due to the dehydration of your body caused by the consumption of alcohol.
Can you hike after drinking alcohol?
This is the most important question. And the answer is YES. However, you need to take some precautions before hitting the trails while unwell.
So read the following tips.
Tips for hiking with a hangover
While hiking with a hangover is entirely possible, you might want to take a look at the below to avoid making this situation worse than it already is.
1 – Drink
Drink plenty of water. So far so good.
As alcohol dehydrates your body, you need to balance it out by drinking more water than you normally would. The rule of thumb is that a hiker should drink 1L every 2 hours on a normal day (ie: normal temperatures, normal physical condition). Therefore in your case, you might want to double these numbers.
Remember that as you are dehydrated, you begin the hike with a disadvantage compared to your hiking buddies (unless everyone has been drinking the night before, of course). To avoid starting on the wrong foot, drink the equivalent of at least 2 cups of water before the start of the hike.
So, what about sports drinks?
They contain nutrients that your body is lacking after consuming alcohol. So they can be a good idea to give you a push, however, they are really high in sugar.
Instead, as your body is low on nutrients such as magnesium, potassium and sodium, think of adding electrolytes to your water. Prefer electrolytes tablets to powder when going on a hike as they are less messy to use.
Can I drink coffee?
The short answer is: it depends.
Coffee as alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it dehydrates your body. As you are already dehydrated, it is not a good idea to drink coffee on top.
Now, I said it depends. If you are a morning coffee drinker and you don’t take your usual dose of caffeine, you might suffer from withdrawal syndrome which can translate into body shakes and irritability. Therefore, in this case, it is better that you have one.
And what about fruit juices?
As you are suffering from an imbalance of acid in your stomach and fruit juices (even fresh ones) are acidic drinks, your stomach pain will get worse. It is therefore not recommended to drink juices when suffering from a hangover.
In conclusion: stick to water.
2 – Food
We all know how great it can be to devour a burger or a pizza after a crazy night out to soak up that alcohol, but in fact, it is exactly what you should not be doing if you are going on a hike.
Stay away from greasy food as they are made of complex carbohydrates which are hard to break during the digestion process and will cause stomach pain (and you already have a funny stomach).
As your body is low in nutrients, eat food rich in simple carbohydrates. Bananas, nuts, crackers and dried fruits are perfect to give you energy without causing more pain in your stomach.
3 – Pain Killers
Of course, the first thing we do when we have a headache is to take a pain killer. Same work when you are suffering from the aftermath of a drinking session on the trails. Over the counter pain killers will do the trick and if you are well prepared (are you?), you should find some in the first aid kit in your backpack.
4 – Weather
Before hiking with a hangover, check the weather for the day.
If the weather forecast shows high temperatures, you might want to cancel. When hiking in the summer heat, you sweat more and consequently you need to drink more to balance the level of fluids in your body. As you are already dehydrated, it will be harder for you to cope in such a climate. Dehydration can lead to complications on the trails, such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke, which can be fatal.
To know more about hiking in the summer heat, read my tips here.
On the opposite side of the scale, you find cold temperatures. While it is a common belief that cold helps to cure hangovers, it is not actually true. One of the consequences of alcohol consumption is that it lowers your heart rate and therefore your body temperature drops. This can lead to your blood running closer to the skin and therefore you feel the cold even more. Save yourself from turning into an ice cube, and should the temperatures be drastically low, avoid hiking with a hangover.
5 – Exercising
You will love me when I say that you should not exercise when suffering from a hangover. As alcohol is a diuretic, it removes water from your body, which causes your body to be dehydrated. High-intensity workouts such as going to the gym or even running are not recommended if you have a hangover as they make you sweat a lot. You need to rehydrate your body not dehydrate it even more. So forget your morning run and pre-hike workouts (because we all work out before a hike, right?) and jump straight to the breakfast part.
Is hiking good for a hangover?
Correct.
And hiking is actually a good form of exercise when suffering from a hangover. As mentioned before you should avoid cold temperatures, however getting a bit of fresh air is good for your condition. Oxygen, in fact, breaks the alcohol toxins which speeds up the recovery process.
So, a stroll outside is a good idea but not a session of HIIT workouts.
6 – Choosing your route
Because you should avoid difficulty when hiking with a hangover, you need to choose your route carefully. Don’t hesitate to change your plan if you were originally doing a challenging hike.
Avoid altitude for two reasons. The first one, it requires a lot of effort to climb up a mountain or even scramble and you are not in the right frame to achieve anything too demanding. It will make you sweat more when you are already dehydrated. Moreover, oxygen becomes rare as you are going up, and as discussed before, you need oxygen to get better.
Prefer a gentle and if possible flat route. A nice stroll can only be beneficial if you are not feeling well.
7 – Chose the time
When nurturing a little hangover, we are very tempted to delay the moment we get out of our warm bed. The problem if you postpone the start of your hike too much is that you will end up walking after the sunset.
Even if you carry a headlight, as a hangover causes imbalance, you are more at risk to have a bad fall and hurt yourself.
When hiking after a night out make sure you walk while there is daylight even if it means getting up early with a headache.
Final thoughts on hiking with a hangover
We are often asked if vomiting helps speed up the recovery process. It only helps if you are feeling nauseous but won’t have any effect on your level of dehydration.
In conclusion, while hiking with a hangover is possible, it is not the best neither for you as you are in pain nor for your body who needs some love. Your experience would be much more enjoyable if you rest the night before. A Netflix and chill evening could make the whole difference to your hike.
Looking for flat and easy walks to do with a hangover? Check these trails
Margate to Ramsgate via Broadstairs walk: The Viking Trail
Epping Forest: A Walk Accessible By Tube
Thames Path: Belvedere To Greenwich Walk
Welsh Harp Walk: An Oasis In London
Walks Near Marlow: 2 Walks Between Hills And River
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