I am a 31-year old man, and I drink every alternate weekend. I end up drinking a lot so every time I drink, I get up with a bad hangover. I am very regular at the gym, and my friends suggest that working out with a hangover will make me feel better. Is it true? Can working out help relieve a hangover? Or can it have other side effects?
Query answered by Roshni Shah, fitness expert V’s Fitness Studio, Mumbai
Yes, your liver can metabolise alcohol during a workout but only a limited amount of it. In an hour you can only metabolise 290ml serving of beer and 140 ml of wine. In fact, when you consume alcohol at a faster rate than what the liver can metabolise, the alcohol tends to accumulate in the blood, and no amount of sweating out will help you get rid of the alcohol. So, the amount of alcohol the liver cannot break down, it is gradually excreted through urine, sweat and breath.
Sometimes, your hangover symptoms might just get worse if you do an intense workout after the night of drinking. When you workout, the alcohol cues the kidneys to produce extra urine which in turn can lead to dehydration. Sweating like crazy during a set of intervals can only get you dehydrated. So, it best that you avoid working out with a hangover. Instead, you can try doing these yoga poses to survive a hangover.
The bottom line-- Simply working out will not help you get over with the hangover any faster. Breaking down the booze takes time especially if you consumed a lot of alcohol the previous night. Trying out some of these natural remedies may be a smarter way to get rid of a hangover. Also, remember that a single instance of drinking can be considered okay, but if you do it every Friday or Saturday, you may want to rethink how much you drink.
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