Do THIS to Cure a Hangover

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Relax your hangover away. You earned it baby!

The skin is your body's largest organ, and one of it's main jobs is to excrete toxins from the body. It does this through sweat, and the sauna is a great way to get a sweat on. I first became interested in saunas when I was playing football in college in Connecticut. Practices were extremely cold towards the end of the season, so to warm back up, I made it a habbit of going in the sauna until I got the feeling back in my fingers and toes. Perhaps to further justify this practice of going in the sauna, I researched the health benefits and I was pleased to find that there were many. My reasoning for going into the sauna was no longer solely because I was a wimp who hated the cold New England winters.

On to the title of this post... the #HangoverCure! When you go into a sauna your heart rate increases to that of a brisk walk as your sweat glands kick into actions. Sweating then mobilizes toxins (alcohol is a toxin, believe it or not!) that are stored in your fat cell and enhances their elimination. So why not just exercise to to start sweating? Well, after a heavy night of drinking it isn't good for your heart to raise your heart rate as high as jogging or high intensity training would raise it. So when you're feeling hungover, just relax, sit in the sauna, and sweat your toxins out. From personal experience, this is the best cure for a hangover. Of course, detox is one part of the puzzle, the other piece is re-hydration. So drink plenty of water! Especially in the sauna. Bring a bottle with you and down the whole thing either in the sauna or right after you get out, before starting your next 15 minute cycle. Let your body tell you when you are fully detoxed and your hangover is cured. I suggest spending less time detoxing if you are new to the whole sauna thing. Like everything fitness related, you should build up to it over time as opposed to just jumping in head first. 

If you're really looking to detox your body for the long haul, not just for one day to kick your hangover's ass, you're going to want to read this paragraph. Several researchers have looked at the effect of sauna on the body's toxic burden. the best studied is the Hubbard Sauna Detoxification Program. This protocol involves daily exercise followed by sitting in a sauna for 2.5 to 5 hours a day, with breaks for cooling down and rehydrating. Participants in this program also take niacin to stimulate circulation and fat mobilization, as well as multivitamins and polyunsaturated oils. 

Bring in a bottle of water with you and don't stay in longer than
15 minutes continuously.

Try out the sauna next time you're hungover and let me know what you think. Feel free to leave any other proven hangover cures that you've had success with in the comments below. 

Again, this is all just advice... you can do whatever the hell you want to do!