Ease Your Hangover with Essential Oils

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Prost! But too much “prosting” can lead to a hangover.

A hangover is a group of unpleasant, and unwanted, mental and physical symptoms that occur after drinking too much alcohol. The symptoms usually begin when a person’s blood alcohol content drops and is at or near zero. The body, in a sense, is withdrawing from the alcohol.

I think many of us have experienced the most common symptoms: nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, excessive thirst, headache, poor sleep, muscle aches, dizziness, shakiness, irritability, fatigue, and the list goes on.

What Leads to a Hangover

• Alcohol is a diuretic. This causes you to urinate more and leads to dehydration. This causes the dry mouth, headache, and dizziness the next morning.
• Affects Digestion: Alcohol irritates the stomach lining. An increase in stomach acid leads to nausea and vomiting. It causes a decrease in the rate of digestion, leading to an increase of gas in the gut and changes to bowel movements, including either constipation or diarrhea. Alcohol affects the gut flora, causing a disruption to the good bacteria also needed for digestion.
• Disturbs sleep: Alcohol can interfere with the quality of sleep. The deep sleep needed to achieve a restful night is not attained. Early and frequent waking is common.
• Congeners: Mostly found is darker liquors and red wine, these byproducts of alcohol fermentation can contribute to hangover symptoms.
• Acetaldehyde buildup: This is an alcohol metabolite–or a by-product of the body processing alcohol. Usually, the body is able to breakdown the metabolites before they become a problem. But if not, the excess can lead to inflammation, causing a generalized “uncomfortable” or “unwell” feeling.
• Blood sugar levels: Alcohol consumption can cause fluctuations in blood sugar levels, leading to symptoms like shakiness, weakness, and fatigue.

I think it’s safe to say that no one likes a hangover.

Try these essential oil ideas to help ease some unpleasant symptoms:

• Diffuse Lavender, Grapefruit, Peppermint, Lemon: Lavender for relaxation, Grapefruit for positive feelings, Peppermint for the stomach and head, Lemon for energy.
• Tummy Roller: Combine 10 drops of each in a 10ml roller bottle: Peppermint, Lavender, Spearmint, and Ginger. Top with carrier oil of choice.
• Head Roller: Combine 12 drops of each in a 10ml roller bottle: Frankincense, Peppermint, Lavender. Top with carrier oil of choice.