Oh, the joys of drinking alcohol.There’s nothing quite like it.
Nor is there anything like that dreadful morning after a festive night out.
The throbbing head, the dehydration, the aches, nausea, and that disjointedfeeling…Yeah, you know how it is. I don’t have to tell you much about what a hangover is like.
7 Essential Oils & Oil Blends forHangovers
While you may have forgotten to drink enough water last night, that throbbing in your head isn’t going to let you off the hook now.It’s time to do something to make you feelbetter – and fast.
Below you will find out about some of the best essential oils for hangovers. You’ll also see some DIY recipes to help you apply your oils.
After you learn about the essential oils stick around for some more natural remedies and recommendations for soothing that sore noggin.
1.) Grapefruit
Grapefruit is an excellent mentally uplifting and refreshing oil. It helps ease a stressed body and mind by promoting positive feelings of hope, happiness, and peacefulness. It is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants which help bolster the immune system, which can get depleted by heavy drinking. Grapefruit is also well known for treating migraines. It’s great to apply directly to the temples and forehead.
2.) Juniper
Juniper is well known for its detoxifying and cleansing properties. It helps to clear and stimulate the mind as well as ease aches and pains. The excellent cleansing properties of juniper are ideal for detoxing. If you are feeling particularly heavy with toxins from drinking and/or poor eating you can combine 3 drops of juniper with 1 tablespoon of carrier oil and rub it onto the bottom of your feet.
3.) Rosemary
Rosemary is an excellent all-around oil. It has fantastic brain tonic qualities, refreshing and clearing the mind and enhancing concentration and mental clarity. Some of its main qualities are reducing the severity of headaches/migraines, reducing memory loss and mental fatigue with it’s clearing and stimulant qualities. It’s a perfect fit for hangovers!
4.) Sandalwood
Sandalwood is a potent anti-inflammatory. It calms inflammation and soothes tension. Sandalwood has a cooling effect on the body which helps calm blood pressure and reduces any symptoms of fever in the body. It’s sedative in nature and calms and relaxes the nervous system. This is great for helping induce a restorative, restful state that your bodies and minds need after a night of drinking.
5.) Lavender
Oh, lavender, who isn’t familiar with this fantastic plant? Lavender is a wonderful healer and has many therapeutic actions. Its anti-inflammatory qualities are renowned and it’s ability to calm and balance the body, mind and nervous system are ideal for relaxing when it is time to calm down and heal while recovering from your hangover.
6.) Plant Therapy Respir-Aid Breathe Blend
This is a great blend to put into your diffuser for hangovers and any time that you have a sickness or respiratory complaint.
This synergistic respiratory blend includes the following essential oils:
- Eucalyptus
- Pine
- Peppermint
- Lavender
- Spruce
- Marjoram
- Cypress
7.) Ovvio Oils Inhale Respiratory Blend
Another synergistic blend, this mixture includes the following oils:
- Eucalyptus
- Rosemary
- Peppermint
- Clary Sage
- Cedarwood
- Lavender
9 Essential Oil Based Recipes and Application Methods forHangovers
1.) Take a soothing EO infused bath
Directions:
Fill the tub with warm water.
While filling tub combine the following ingredients in a non-reactive bowl:
- 1 tsp milk
- 2-3 drops juniper
- 2-3 drops grapefruit
- 1-2 drop rosemary
Add your ingredients to the tub, disperse the oils and soak for 30 minutes or more.
Alternative oils. If you have some of the following oils in your collection they can be used/substituted for the above oils. These are also supportive of hangovers.
Just make sure that the total amount of oils in your bath doesn’t exceed 10.
2.) Simple wet washcloth body rub
Another simple EO application you can apply before or after a bath is an EO infused washcloth.
Direction:
Soak a washcloth, ring out excess water.
Sprinkle your washcloth with:
- 1 drop juniper
- 1 drop grapefruit
- 1 drop rosemary
Rub briskly over your entire body.
3.) Simple neat toxin eliminating EO massage blend
Combineand bottle the following oils:
- 5 drops fennel
- 3 drops lavender
- 5 drops sandalwood
- 10 drops lemon
For hangover apply 2 drops neat of your blend onto the liver area and slowly massage in.You can also apply 2 drops to the back of the neck and massage in for added relief.
Can also be used as an additional bath blend. Add 6-8 drops to your bath and enjoy.
4.) Simple diffuser blend
Add the following oils into your diffuser:
- 3 drops peppermint
- 3 drops lavender
- 3 drops rosemary
Enjoy!
Additional (Non-Essential Oil Based) Natural Remedies for Hangovers
Drink plenty ofwater
Okay here’s the captain obvious recommendation – drink water. Now. Even if you don’t feel like it.You maythink you drank enough water last night, but if you have a hangover, I’ll you could use some more.
For one,alcohol induces diuresis which increases urination. That’s why we pee so much when we’re drinking. To add to that alcohol inhibits pituitary hormones that work with the kidney to process water.
So when you’re drinking your body dispels water without absorbing it fully into the body. This is why your pee is often very clear when drinking. All that’s leaving your body is water and necessary electrolytes, potassium, sodium.. etc.
So basically, drinking makes you very dehydrated. So drink your water!
Take an Aspirin
Not really a natural remedy, but a light medicine that we all have on hand. Aspirin provides a simple anti-inflammatory and pain reduction. It’s safe and relatively effective.But don’t load up on aspirin/acetaminophen as it can stress your liver. Your liver has already been stressed by alcohol. So take 2 or 3 aspirins tops.
Drink some coffee or green tea
Coffee and green/black/caffeinated tea can reduce the swelling of blood vessels in your head. It can also wake you up if that’s what you’re trying to accomplish.
But do note that this is only recommended for people who regularly enjoy caffeinated drinks. If you don’t often drink caffeine and decide to during a pounding hangover it might be the thing that sends you from being relatively sick to throwing up.
Getsome electrolytes
You likely lost your stores of electrolytes from your drinking session, so you’ll want to replenish them. This will help your hangover resolve itself far quicker than it might otherwise.
You can drink those commercial energy drinks for your electrolytes, though I don’trecommend them highly. I prefer coconut water with it’s added potassium boost or apple cider vinegar and a little bit of sea salt added to a glass of warm water.
Chicken and bone broth are great options as well if you’re into that. They provide electrolytes and essential minerals.
Get a bit of exercise
This recommendation might draw some raised eyebrows.
Jump around? Run? Really?
The answer is yes, but only a little bit. Getting a healthy bout of sweaty, intense activity helps some people to better deal with the aftermath of their night of indulgence.
But do keep it brief if you decide to opt for activity. You want to get your body active and running at a good pace, but you don’t want to add too much more of a burden on it either. All of the increased circulation and blood pressure around the body can add to the demands of your liver and kidneys to clean your blood.
So, as with alcohol, observe moderation in your morning after exercise
How to Prevent the Next Hangover
It’s fun and all researching healthy hangover remedies, butof course, the ideal situation is that you don’t get hangovers at all.
So let’s talk aboutsome ways for you to prevent the next one.
- Drink moderately – get your buzz, then stop. By all means get your drink on! But try to maintain a nice, tipsy buzz next time? You’ll still get the nice social aspect of drinking but you’ll escape any embarrassing drunken moments. Oh and no hangover.
- Drink water with your alcohol. Easy to do, easy to forget. Just keep a glass or water bottle handy throughout the night. If you’re drinking at a bar ask the bartender for a small glass of water whenever you order a drink. If you’re feeling really motivated ask for/add a pinch of mineral-rich sea salt in your water for those precious electrolytes!
- Eat before and during your drinking session. In our younger years, we try to space out food from our alcohol so we get drunker, but we’re a little smarter now. Make sure to remind yourself how smart you are by ensuring you get some food in your stomach! You’ll thank yourself in the morning.
- Finish the night with a tall glass of water. Before you lay down for bed drink some more water. For an added electrolyte boost include a pinch of salt in your water or drink coconut water/Pedialyte.
And if you really like to drink yourself into a tizzy – Here are some advanced preventative measures.
Okay, so if you’ve stuck around you must like to drink!
You’ll need more than essential oils to keep you hangover free : )
There are some supplements that you can take before drinking that will do a good job of preventing the toxins from building up in your body as you drink.
Consider taking the following supplements before a drinking session:
N-acetylcysteine – take 200mg about a half hour before your first drink. This stuff reduces acetaldehyde (bad stuff) toxicity and boosts glutathione (good stuff).
Prickly pear extract – if you take this supplement 5 or so hours before drinking there’s a good chance it could reduce your hangover symptoms by limiting potential inflammation.
Magnesium – Magnesium is an important anti-inflammatory mineral for the body, and alcohol depletes it. By supplementing a little bit before drinking you’ll benefit from having enough magnesium in your system to combat the inflammation from the alcohol.
Milk thistle extract – you likely already know this, but silymarin, which is the active ingredient in milk thistle extract has been shown to prevent liver damage from alcohol toxicity. The plant has been used for centuries in folk traditions for treatment of jaundice, which is a condition caused by liver dysfunction.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you got a lot out of this post!If you have any questions, comments or recommendations of your own please let us know in the comment section below.
