We have all been there before, it's TGIF, you are out on the town with your buddies having a few drinks (or those that you can remember taking) to unwind the stressful work week that you had. But what do you know, the next morning as you stumble out (or fall out) of bed, knees weak, head throbbing feeling like an overripe watermelon and world spinning around you. Good news you had a great time last night but the bad news is you are currently having a hangover.
Popular wisdom would tell you that it is time for you to stuff yourself with any greasy carbs or gulp down bottles of isotonic drinks that you can muster in your nauseous and miserable state. Is there no other way to get rid of these hangovers?
Fear not, essential oils provides an option that involves less grease and calories. Below is the step by step guide for nursing your hangover with essential oils.
Essential Oils as Hangover Cures
1. Headache relief
First things first, you would have to address that jackhammer in your head. For headache relief, there are 2 options Peppermint and Eucalyptus essential oil.
In a 1996 study, it was found that applying Peppermint essential oil can help to relieve headache symptoms in roughly 10 minutes. Massaging it with a carrier oil on your temples and the back of the neck will also help to alleviate headache symptoms. Alternatively, add a few drops into your nebuliser or use a warm wet towel for inhalation.
As for Eucalyptus essential oil, it is a natural expectorant which helps to clear toxins like alcohol from the body. It can be applied in the same way as the Peppermint essential oil but it is found to be more effective when used in combination with Peppermint essential oils.
2. Nausea relief
It is hard to eat anything when all your body is telling you to do is vomit everything out. To treat nausea and calm the stomach, one can use Ginger essential oils by massaging themselves on their stomach area with a carrier oil or by inhaling it using a nebuliser. It is common knowledge that Ginger a natural remedy that is effective in relieving nausea and it's symptoms.
3. Dehydration relief
Drinking any alcoholic beverages dehydrates the body worsening the hangover's effect, to combat this you could try inhaling some Lemon, Lavender or Grapefruit essential oils, coupled with drinking enough water to quickly rehydrate the body and alleviate the hangover symptoms.
Additionally, Lavender essential oils relax the blood vessels leading to better blood flow to the brain and the rest of the body allowing the water and electrolytes to reach where they are needed. In addition, Lavender essential oils also act as a relaxant for the body which is stress due to having a hangover.
4. Lack of energy relief
It is very tempting to just go back to sleep (or at least try to) when you have a hangover and hope that all the negatives of a hangover will just magically go away. Sad to say but you are just delaying your hangover treatment and why waste half a day to lie in bed, only to feel equally terrible later.
To give that boost to get out of bed and get on with your day, one can consider inhaling any citrusy essential oil such as Lemon, Grapefruit or Bergamot.
The power of the hangover is too strong and not feeling the energy increasing effects of the essential oils? Try using the Rosemary essential oils instead, as it increases cerebral blood flow making you more mentally alert.
5. A final note
Yes, even though essential oils address most hangover symptoms, your body is still dehydrated from the alcohol consumption. Drink plenty of water and eat a light meal (such as a banana or oranges with many minerals and vitamins) to rehydrate and restore the electrolytes in your body.
Hope this guide would aid you in all your future post TGIF, wedding dinner, party hangovers. Cheers!