6 Ways to Reduce Hangover Anxiety (Hangxiety) The Next Morning
Do you tend to feel anxious after a big night out? Alcohol could actually have an impact on your mental health as you recover from overindulging, an effect that some call "hangxiety." If you tend to experience hangover anxiety symptoms, you can take steps to alleviate these feelings of fear, panic and dread.
What Causes Hangxiety?
While experts aren't sure why some people experience anxiety the morning after drinking, some scientists theorize that using alcohol as a social lubricant may contribute to these feelings.1 In other words, if you tend to feel nervous at parties until you have a few drinks, the anxiety may return as the effects of alcohol wear off. In addition, physical hangover symptoms can also worsen anxiety.
Anxiety may also arise as part of the withdrawal process as alcohol leaves your body. After drinking, you may feel nervous, restless, jittery or restless for several hours. Alcohol encourages the body to release endorphins, which cause feelings of joy and euphoria. As the endorphins deplete, a low mood may occur.
How to Reduce Hangover Anxiety
Keep these strategies in your back pocket when you need to know how to reduce hangxiety in a hurry.
Mindful Meditation in the Morning
Practicing a few minutes of mindfulness meditation the morning after may help diminish your anxiety. You can meditate wherever you happen to be, but a quiet environment where you can sit or lie in a relaxed position works best. Simply focus on your breathing or repeat a comforting word or phrase. Try to gently dismiss other thoughts that enter your mind during this time.
Eat, Drink, Shower
Starting your day off right can help resolve some of those uncomfortable feelings of anxiety. Instead of giving in to the instinct to eat a greasy breakfast or even try the "hair of the dog" as a home remedy, reach for a sports drink to replenish your body's lost electrolytes. Dehydration can also make you anxious.
Have a small, light meal to avoid aggravating nausea, heartburn and indigestion. Many doctors recommend the BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) diet in this situation, but anything bland and easy to digest will do. Choosing complex carbs like whole grains, fruits and veggies balances the blood sugar, which reduces hangover symptoms.
Eating these foods also gives you energy without coffee. Caffeine will make you feel jittery, which can exacerbate the feelings of restlessness and anxiety that come with a hangover.
Put the Night Into Perspective
Often, anxious feelings after drinking arise from fear of things we may have done or said the night before. Remember that most of these fuzzy memories represent just a moment in time and won't have a long-term impact on friends, jobs, or relationships.
Catch Up On Sleep
Resting can help your body and brain recover after a night of drinking. If you feel anxious when you wake up, rearrange your day to allow for extra sleep if at all possible. While it might seem like the best course of action is to continue with your plan for the day, doing so can sometimes contribute to hangover anxiety. This is especially true if you have work or other responsibilities on tap.
In addition, Harvard Health reports that hangovers might come from sleep deprivation since alcohol prevents your body from getting restful sleep.2
Take a Walk In Fresh Air
Exercise releases feel-good endorphins, which can help calm the nervous system and boost mood. It also helps you feel more alert, which allows you to move past the anxiety and reach a calmer state of being. Research has long associated fresh air exposure with improved mental state, so this step can be as simple as a walk around your neighborhood.
Even mild cardio gets the blood circulating, another step in removing hangover-causing toxins from the body. Don't try to take your toughest spin class to sweat out the alcohol. This strategy actually causes further dehydration, which will compound the symptoms you already have after a night of drinking.
Polisorb and Cleanses After Festivities
Polisorb prevents hangovers with just one natural ingredient, silicon dioxide, which binds to toxins and carries them out of the digestive system. If you often experience hangover anxiety, try taking Polisorb when you get home or just before bed after a night of drinking. As long as you use this cleanse while the alcohol is still in your system, you can possibly sidestep or dramatically reduce many of the classic hangover symptoms along with emotional symptoms such as anxiety.
The next day, flush leftover alcohol and toxins with one of Detoxify's herbal cleanses for additional hangover support. These products trigger your body's natural detox systems and rehydrate the body more rapidly than water alone.
Hangxiety? Pass! Shop Detoxify Hangover Fix
Hangxiety is dreaded by all who endure it. Look forward to your fun night out by reducing your hangover anxiety with our suggestions above.
REFERENCES
1 https://www.healthline.com/health/hangover-anxiety
2 https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/7-steps-to-cure-your-hangover-and-ginkgo-biloba-whats-the-verdict
