Hangover insomnia is the result of alcohol poisoning. It does not allow the body to fully recover and aggravates the symptoms of intoxication. To overcome this condition, you can take approved sleeping pills and sedatives. But of paramount importance is the body detox procedure and the streamlining of the lifestyle.

Why a hangover causes insomnia

Reasons for Lack of Sleep with a Hangover:

• The consumption of alcoholic beverages in excessive quantities causes poisoning of the body.
• Alcohol acts as a stimulant on the nervous system, which is why a person is haunted by a feeling of anxiety and tension.
• Large doses of alcohol negatively affect the functioning of internal organs.
• A person is tormented by severe headaches, vomiting and nausea, pain in the abdomen and liver, intense thirst, which cannot be dealt with.
• Alcohol causes discomfort in the solar plexus area, increased blood pressure, a feeling of strong squeezing in the stomach.
• Depression caused by the already mentioned excitation of the central nervous system. A person who has come out of a state of binge is disturbed by disturbing thoughts that can provoke rash acts up to suicide or attempts to injure other people.

Insomnia during a hangover can be of a different nature: from sleep problems due to poor health to a chronic lack of sleep as a result of dysfunction of internal organs and overexcitation of the central nervous system. Insomnia after drinking a large amount of alcohol lasts up to several days, after a binge – from 7 to 12 days.

Meanwhile, sleep with a hangover is absolutely necessary to restore the body’s strength. The normal duration of sleep is the key to resisting harmful environmental factors.

What not to do in the absence of sleep with a hangover

With a hangover, you can not:

• take powerful pain relievers, as they put even more stress on the liver;
• use potent sleeping pills;
• drink strong coffee and tea, as well as energy drinks;
• smoking;
• consume alcohol, including as a sleeping pill;
• eat fatty, heavy food for the stomach;
• take medications such as valocordin, corvalol, citramon, Nurofen;
• forcing yourself to eat when there is no appetite;
• take aspirin if less than 6 hours have passed since drinking alcohol.

Many well-known remedies that are considered effective for a hangover actually turn out to be useless, although they are not harmful to health. After a binge will not help:

• tomato juice;
• marinades (not to be confused with pickles: they really help to cope with hangover symptoms. In the composition of marinades, there is a large amount of vinegar, which additionally irritates the stomach lining);
• soda solution;
• multivitamin preparations.

Since the concentration and speed of reactions decrease during a hangover period, it is strongly not recommended to drive vehicles in this state.

Why is it dangerous to take sleeping pills for a hangover?

Insomnia, or insomnia, after a hangover, and all the more binge, is exhausting and slows down the process of returning to a normal lifestyle. To cope with it, they resort to a means of helping to fall asleep – sleeping pills. However, doing so is not entirely correct: taking a drug can negatively affect the general condition and cause an exacerbation of existing pathologies of internal organs. Sleeping pills should be taken with extreme caution, and you should first consult with your doctor.

Different sleeping pills have different effects: some of them are potent, others have a less pronounced effect. The combination of powerful drugs with alcohol, especially in large doses, can cause:

• unconsciousness up to coma;
• large-scale intoxication of the body, which can provoke the death of nerve cells in the brain;
• respiratory dysfunction;
• cardiac arrest;
• the development of severe alcohol withdrawal;
• internal bleeding;
• destruction of the liver;
• the onset of choking from vomiting.

Due to the risk of death caused by the combination of alcohol and sleeping pills, with a hangover syndrome, you need to consider how long ago the last drink was drunk.

With milder, over-the-counter drugs, it’s not that simple either. Many of them are completely unsuitable for returning normal hangover-disturbed sleep. Corvalol, valocordin and validol – popular available remedies that many consider effective for hangover insomnia – should not be taken in such a situation. Their active ingredients in combination with alcohol have an extremely negative effect on the liver, heart, blood vessels and brain.

Any medication for hangover insomnia can only be used as directed by your doctor.

Hangover drugs

If a person’s condition really leaves much to be desired, it is preferable to use drugs that relieve the unpleasant symptoms of hangover instead of sleeping pills. Once your overall health has stabilized, it will be much easier to fall asleep.

What can be taken:

• sorbents – activated carbon, white coal, Enterosgel, Smektu, Atoksil, Sorbex;
• from nausea and vomiting – “Cerucal”, “Sturgeon”, “Metoclopramide”;
• for headaches – aspirin, analgin, ibuprofen;
• complex preparations created specifically for the treatment of hangovers – “Alka-Seltzer”, “Alka-Prim”, “DrinkOFF”, “Zorex”, “Piel-Alko”, “Medichronal”.

Sedatives

You can get rid of insomnia after a long binge and suppress increased anxiety with the help of sedatives.

Sedatives reduce the severity of neurological symptoms. With a hangover, you should take natural formulas or homeopathic remedies. Allowed:

• “Novo-passit”;
• “Glycine”;
• Sonilux;
• Passidorm;
• “Persen”;
• valerian;
• motherwort (in any dosage form).

When taking sedatives, the permissible dosage must not be exceeded, otherwise the cardiovascular system may malfunction.

Folk methods

People often try to fight insomnia in the period after a binge with folk remedies, tested by many generations. The most popular are the following:

• Tincture of hop cones. To prepare the product, take 2 tablespoons of raw materials and pour 200 ml of hot water. The liquid should be infused for at least half an hour. After that, strain the infusion and drink before meals, a tablespoon three times a day. It is an effective non-drug remedy for the treatment of insomnia caused by alcohol intoxication.
• Mint infusion. To prepare 2 tablespoons of washed fresh leaves of the plant, steam with a glass of boiling water and let it brew for 30 minutes. Drink chilled, half a glass, twice a day. You can add a little natural honey to the resulting infusion.
• Infusion of hawthorn. In a glass of boiling water, brew 2 tablespoons of hawthorn fruit, let it brew for 20 minutes. Drink the resulting volume of infusion in two doses, in the morning and in the evening.
• Broth of oats. Pour 100 g of grains without peeling with a liter of water, put on fire and boil for 20 minutes. The product should cool down. Take it before meals, twice a day, drinking 200 ml each time. This home treatment method not only allows you to fall asleep faster, but also effectively cleanses the body of toxins formed during the breakdown of alcohol.
• Kefir with honey. Dissolve a tablespoon of honey in 200 ml of fermented milk product and drink the resulting drink immediately before bedtime.

Popular experience suggests that there are certain foods that can help fight hangover symptoms and can improve sleep. It is recommended to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, which contain a large amount of vitamins and antioxidants, which are especially necessary for the body, poisoned by alcohol breakdown products. These include:

• carrot;
• rosehip berries;
• cabbage;
• lemons;
• fruits of black and red currants;
• oranges.

Also, with a hangover and after a binge, it is recommended to drink mineral waters with a low level of alkali. Another useful “drink” for a hangover is natural chicken broth.

Alternative methods of treatment also imply frequent washing with cold water: harmful substances are actively released through the pores of the skin.

How to help yourself at home

You can also help a person suffering from insomnia with a hangover at home. Improving sleep requires an integrated approach.

Detoxification of the body

This is the name of cleansing from poisons and toxins, the appearance of which is associated with the ingress of alcohol into the blood. One way is to flush the intestines with the Esmarch mug. A weak soda or manganese solution is used as a solution. In parallel, you can take sorbent agents, such as activated carbon. 

The second way of detoxification is the use of certain foods and drinks, which, due to the content of elements that accelerate the metabolism, stimulate the process of elimination of toxins. Fermented milk products without additives, honey, watermelon are suitable, from drinks – natural kvass, infusion of eleutherococcus or ginseng, fresh fruit drinks from berries.

For detoxification purposes, succinic acid tablets can be taken, provided that the instructions for the drug are followed.

Water procedures

To cope with the anguish that a hangover delivers, you can take warm (but not hot) baths with the addition of a few drops of aromatic oil or a contrast shower, alternating the temperature regime of the water. You should refrain from going to the sauna or bath after a binge, as high air humidity and too sharp temperature changes can have a negative effect on the work of the heart muscle.

 Decongestant therapy

Alcohol retains fluid in the body, therefore, depending on how long the drinking period lasted, a person develops more or less pronounced tissue edema. To get rid of them, you should drink as much pure water, herbal teas, pickle from cucumbers as possible.

Restoring the acid-base balance of the body

To do this, you should drink slightly alkaline water (“Essentuki”, “Borjomi”), as well as freshly squeezed juices – tomato, apple, orange. It is also okay to drink a mild baking soda solution to restore balance.

Creating a favorable environment for relaxation

In order to begin the process of cleansing the body of alcoholic toxins and effectively establish sleep, it is necessary to create favorable conditions. It is necessary to ventilate the room in which the hangover sufferer will be, to carry out wet cleaning in it.

Nutrition

If there is no appetite, the diet should consist of a light beef-based broth without fat or vegetable soup. The first courses must be served hot. Eating a large amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, taking multivitamin complexes will help restore the body’s protective functions after intoxication.

Physical activity

To improve the condition, it is worth being more outdoors, walking. Exercise should be done in moderation, without exposing the heart to increased stress during a hangover.

Not suitable as physical activity for a hangover:

• yoga;
• Athletics;
• run;
• gymnastics;
• training on simulators.

Allowed:

• short swimming in the pool;
• charger;
• walking at a moderate pace.

More serious loads are allowed no earlier than 24 hours after drinking a large amount of alcohol.