Freshers' week: 9 tips for avoiding a hangover

Freshers' Week has become a rite of passage for new students – giving first years the chance to let their hair down and settle into their new city before the hard work begins.

As well as making friends and finding key locations, Freshers’ Week is also likely to be the biggest social challenge of a teenager’s life, with a hangover being pretty much inevitable.

However, there are some things you can do to give yourself a helping hand and ensure you’re ready to go again the following evening. We share our top tips on how students can cope with six days of non-stop partying.

Key Takeaways

Eat well and pace your drinking:

Before drinking, have a substantial meal to slow alcohol absorption. Don't rush drinks – pace yourself by alternating alcohol with water or soft drinks to avoid getting too drunk too quickly.

Stay hydrated to avoid hangovers:

Drink water before bed and keep some by your side for when you wake up. Dioralyte sachets can help rehydrate you by replacing lost fluids and electrolytes after a night of drinking.

Freshers’ flu prevention:

Along with hangovers, freshers’ flu is common. Stock up on fruit, vegetables, and vitamins like Nature’s Way Immune Support to boost your immune system and stay healthy during Freshers' Week.

Eating isn’t cheating

Food helps to slow the absorption of alcohol, so eating a substantial dinner before you start drinking will help to ‘line the stomach’. Put your cooking skills to the test by whipping up some carb and protein-fuelled pasta or potatoes and chicken to give you the energy you need to go all night.

Drinking before you go out?

Make sure you don’t miss out by drinking too much too early. Mocktails are a great way to start the night if you want to wait until you’re out to have your first alcoholic drink. Keep an eye on your home pouring too, especially if you’re drinking spirits. Don’t freehand it – it’s worth investing in some alcohol unit measuring cups.

Slow it down

You may want to keep up with your new friends, but four pints in an hour is much harder to recover from than four pints in four hours. The best thing to do is slow your pace of drinking. Alternating alcohol with water or soft drinks will help, while keeping you hydrated.

Mine’s a pint… of water

When you get back home, down a bottle of water to try and re-hydrate. It’s also worth leaving a glass of water on your bedside table for when you wake up in the middle of the night. You’ll thank yourself in the morning! As an added extra, Dioralyte sachets work by replacing all the electrolytes and fluids that are lost as a result of dehydration.

Watch your liver

Overindulging on food and alcohol can leave you feeling very unwell, however Thisilyn Milk Thistle Capsules liver-restoring benefits can help you to recover as soon as possible. The capsules contain standardised milk thistle fruit extract – an ingredient known for its digestive benefits.

Go outdoors…

It’s probably the last thing you want to do when you've got a killer hangover, but a bit of light exercise can really help you sweat out those toxins.

…But also rest

Alcohol can impair both sleep quality and duration. And, although poor sleep doesn’t cause most hangover symptoms, it may contribute to fatigue and irritability. Get plenty of sleep to help your body recover.

Banish the headache

Kick that headache to the curb with 4head’s Cutaneous Stick. When applied directly to the forehead, the active ingredient levomenthol creates cooling and tingling skin sensations, which transforms into a painkilling effect and works to numb and control the headache instantly. 

And don’t forget to watch out for freshers’ flu

Many students will end up suffering from something more serious than a hangover when they start university as freshers’ flu is an unwelcome reality for thousands of new starters. While it may just seem like an excuse to skip lectures, it’s actually a really bad cold that can knock you off your feet for a week or so.

Stock up on fruit and vegetables and vitamin C, which is particularly vital to fighting off illnesses. Nature’s Way Alive! Immune Support vitamins are enriched with vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin D3 and zinc to keep your immune system strong and healthy.