While I’m not perturbed by the ageing process, there are certain changes that seem unavoidable.
The grey hairs, wrinkles and the gravitational pull on the body parts that tend to droop in the most unattractive manner are all things I can pretty much deal with.
However, there are things I do miss from my younger days.
Heading off to the club at 10 pm, going home at 3 am, and still being able to function the next day is now activities that I won’t dare consider.
Such a night out will have me man-down for an entire week.
And when it comes to boozing, having more than two gin and tonics in one day is risky and sure to bring on a mild hangover.
I might miss the parties, but I certainly don’t miss the painful and nauseating hangovers.
While my hardcore party days are over, there are folk who are still living it up.
With New Year’s parties coming up, it’s always best to go into the festivities better prepared rather than suffer the dreaded hangover the next day or days for the older party-goers.
Depending on just how much you intend to overindulge, here are a few ways to prevent, or at least lessen, the effects of a hangover.
1. Drink water
Drink lots of water. While this is an everyday rule for maintaining a healthy body, it’s even more vital when you’re out boozing.
Because alcohol is a diuretic, it causes one to need to urinate, which puts one at risk of becoming dehydrated.
Dehydration contributes to symptoms like headache, fatigue and dry mouth.
A good rule is to drink a glass of water between drinks and to have at least one big glass of water before going to sleep.
2. Choose your booze wisely
Avoid alcoholic drinks with high amounts of congeners. Alcoholic drinks with high amounts of congeners increase the intensity of hangovers.
Avoid high-congeners such as whiskey, cognac and tequila. Bourbon whiskey is exceptionally high in congeners.
Opt for low-congeners like vodka, gin and rum. Vodka contains the least congeners.
3. Eat something!
Drinking on an empty stomach is one of the worse things you can do.
"When you drink alcohol on an empty stomach, it just passes the alcohol right to your intestines and then it’s absorbed into the bloodstream very quickly," explains Robert Swift, MD, associate director of the Brown University Centre for Alcohol and Addiction Studies.
This simply means that you will get drunk quicker and that hangover will be so much worse.