Does Drinking the Next Day Help a Hangover?

Drinking alcohol during a hangover is also commonly referred to as “hair of the dog.” The actual origin of that phrase has to do with a practice in which people would take hair from a dog’s belly (where its fur is the thickest) and steep it in alcohol to make a cure for the symptoms of rabies. Before the development of vaccinations, this was considered a way to prevent getting rabies.

Similarly, it was believed that if you had drunk too much last night, having just a little bit more today would help cure some of your hangover symptoms. We still use the phrase “hair of the dog” today as an (false) example of how to get over something by doing more of it. This technique was obviously not effective for rabies, nor is it for hangovers.

People often believe that drinking alcohol the next day will help them get over their hangover, but he more likely scenario is that it will make it worse. If you do decide to drink to try and get rid of your hangover, know that alcohol has little effect on the symptoms and will compound dehydration. Feeling better after a few beers (or Bloody Mary’s) might be because they’re helping you rehydrate somewhat, but probably won’t kill your headache or ease your nausea.

In getting rid of your hangover, your first goal should be to replace lost fluids and electrolytes (sodium and potassium) by drinking water or other non-alcoholic beverages, like sports drinks. For every drink of beer, wine, or spirits you have during the night (with about one drink being about one glass of wine or one pint of beer), you really need to drink about one glass of water before bed and then another every hour during the night. This may seem like a hassle, but it will help prevent the dehydration that leads to headaches while also preventing the fatigue that can make it harder to deal with your hangover in the morning.