Running After Drinking Alcohol the Night Before

Last updated on April 14th, 2021 at 05:23 pm

We all have busy lives and try to live them in the most balanced manner possible. On top of committing ourselves to doing well at work, we make time for our families and friends. In between those priorities, we make time for exercise and the enjoyment of running. Sometimes all of these commitments overlap and affect one another. Our professional and social lives can interfere with our fitness goals in more ways than one. Running after drinking alcohol the night before is going to be inevitable for many of us.

The Night Out

Picture it. You’re out with friends on a Friday night. After a couple of cocktails at dinner, someone suggests going to the new bar that opened up in town. You’re having a great time and don’t want the night to end, so you say you’re in. This is in spite of the fact that you are a regular Saturday morning runner and it’s getting pretty late.

The bar turns out to be awesome and you have a couple more drinks because the cocktails are so good. Fast forward to the next morning, and you find yourself waking up with a hangover that has you questioning if life is worth living.

The thought of going on a run makes you want to vomit, and all you want to do is find a time machine so that you can go back and stop yourself from drinking too much the night before. Against everything your body is telling you, you pull yourself out of bed, chug as much water as your body allows, and lace up your shoes. Welp, we’ll see how this goes.

Most of us have experienced something like this. Sometimes running can help us get over the hangover, and other times the hangover wins. So, what sort of damage control can we do if we want to go running after drinking alcohol the night before? This is the topic we’ll navigate today.

Alcohol Affects Performance

Alcohol consumption has a serious effect on the world of athletics. It is one of the most accessible, and therefore abused, drugs available. There is no question drinking alcohol excessively can influence your athletic performance, including running. Here are a few ways your running performance can be affected after drinking alcohol the night before:

Drinking Alcohol Makes You Dehydrated

As a diuretic, alcohol makes you have to pee more often than normal. Couple this with excessive amounts of sweating on a run and your body will be losing the fluids it needs to remain properly hydrated for athletic performance.

Alcohol May Reduce Your Energy Level

“Sweating it out” does not remove alcoholic toxins from the body because alcohol is only broken down in the liver. The toxins from alcohol are broken down in the liver before other processes, including glucose production. Glucose is produced for energy in the body. Since the process of producing glucose in the body is secondary when alcohol is present, you may feel sluggish on a run.

Furthermore, your muscles will be burning the glucose they have to produce energy, and a byproduct of this is lactic acid. Since less glucose will be produced due to the liver’s efforts to clear alcohol toxins from the body, you may have a build up of lactic acid in your muscles, leading to cramps.

Alcohol Can Prohibit Muscle Growth and Recovery

This study concludes that alcohol consumption after a workout can “suppress anabolic response in skeletal muscle” and would, therefore, prohibit the ability of the muscles to adapt to or recover from working out. The study assumes the same would happen if alcohol is consumed prior to a workout.

Too Much Drinking Can Lead to Weight Gain

Most alcoholic beverages are high in calories. The more you drink in an evening, the more empty calories your body consumes. Not to mention the fact that you’ll be more susceptible to late night, high-calorie junk food binging with each drink you have.

Poor Sleep

This study shows that alcohol consumption can negatively affect the restorative benefits of sleeping by disturbing “cardiovascular relaxation.” This can, in turn, affect your athletic performance the next day. Sleeping well is critical to our overall health, and even though alcohol may make you fall asleep quicker, you won’t sleep better over the course of the evening.

Hangover headache

How can you perform well with a throbbing headache? Each stride coinciding with a bulge of pain from behind your left eye…Enough said.

Can it be Beneficial to Run with a Hangover?

Some may argue that going running after drinking alcohol the night before will help you feel better quicker. That statement can be true as long as you manage your workout appropriately. Depending on the level of drinking you did the night before, your mind and body will be in a bit of a fog. Your stomach may also be a mess, and as described above you will probably be a bit dehydrated.

While you won’t be “sweating out” the alcohol (this is not a thing), you can get your body to release the feel-good chemicals that it does when you work out- endorphins and adrenaline, for example.

The trick is to go a little bit lighter in your workout than you would if you hadn’t just filled your body with toxins the night before. Just getting outside in the atmosphere to breathe in the fresh cool air and let the sun hit you will help. A moderate workout that helps to boost your mood will help you to recover from a moderate hangover.

Can Running After Drinking the Night Before Cause Damage?

If you went super hard drinking, a workout is not going to do anything to make you feel better. In fact, you can put yourself in danger if you push it too hard with a workout after drinking. Too much fluid loss during a sweaty run will only exacerbate your dehydration since you’ll be dehydrated before you even get started. You’ll just have to give your liver time to process all of the toxins out of your system.

Steps to Prepare for Running the Day After a Night Out

While a random night of drinking can occur every once in a while, most of the time you’ll know well in advance when you will be in a social drinking situation. If you also know you are going on a run ahead of time, you may be able to avoid the event altogether and do something less detrimental to your running schedule.

Sometimes, though, some social occasions make it difficult to abstain from drinking. Weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, and other special occasions come to mind. But all is not lost. Simply knowing and deciding that you want to have a quality running session the next morning will help you to make good decisions and prevent a disaster. You can still take several deliberate steps to prepare for running after drinking alcohol the night before. Here are some tips:

Drink Water Before, During, and After the Occasion.

Proper hydration is one of the most important things to focus on if you want to make your run worthwhile the next morning. Drink a lot of water leading up to the event. Throughout the night, drink a glass of water in between cocktails so that you can counter the alcohol intake with proper fluids. Yes, you will pee a lot, but your head and body will thank you in the morning. Drink one or two full glasses of water before going to bed as well.

Eat Well Before and During Your Drinking Night

Eat carbohydrate and protein-rich foods so that your muscles will have a good store of energy. Eating while drinking is a good practice if you can manage what you eat (no junk!). Chewing in between sips helps to moderate your alcohol intake as well as providing your body the nutrients it needs to recover. Eat a banana the next morning before your workout to give yourself some electrolytes in addition to the carbs and proteins you stored the night before.

Don’t Make Drinking the Main Activity.

Having a couple of drinks should be a supplement to the fun you are having during the evening. It should not be the main focus of the night.

Be active throughout the evening and find other ways to have fun based on your setting. If you are out at a bar, engage in conversation, play some darts, or goof around dancing. Basically, be mindful and pace yourself with the drinks. You can have a good time without getting hammered.

Be the Designated Driver.

This is a sure-fire way to avoid drinking too much before a run. Your friends will thank you for the avoided Lyft or Uber fees, and you’ll wake up the next morning feeling like a million bucks.

What to Eat the Morning After Drinking

There isn’t a perfect solution or cure for a hangover, but there are some ways to temper the beast. What you eat the morning after drinking can help you feel a little better too, in addition to eating carefully selected carbohydrate-rich foods and drinking water the night before.

Here are a few more tips for eating the morning after:

Drink Water, Coconut Water, or an Electrolyte-Enhanced Beverage

Doing so the night before, or the morning of, will help to replenish your dehydrated body with electrolytes. Electrolytes are important for muscle function. Mixing some Emergen-C with water will also provide you with electrolytes and other important vitamins.

Eat Bland Foods

Cleveland Clinic recommends eating plain toast, applesauce, rice, and bananas. These foods can be digested easily and contain carbohydrates that can replenish the body’s energy stores. The simplicity of these foods can also help settle your stomach.

Eat Some Fruit, but Not Too Much

The sugars in fruits may help to speed up the process of getting alcohol out of the system. Mangoes, grapes, pears, watermelon, and plantains are recommended. Eating too much fruit before a run can give you an upset stomach though, so moderate.

Eat Some Ginger if Your Stomach is Upset

Ginger is known to help settle the stomach and alleviate nausea.

Eat a Protein-Rich Food, Like Eggs

Do this especially if you didn’t do so the night before. It will help to provide your body with the energy it needs to work out.

Resilience is Not Invisibility

As an athlete, your body is likely more resilient than the average person. After a night of drinking, you’ll likely be able to tough it out even if you have a hangover. Just remember, if you place importance on your run the next day, you will take the right steps during the evening without sacrificing fun.

Be Flexible With Your Workout Schedule

Drink plenty of water, eat well, try not to get too drunk, and get enough sleep. Safety comes first, though. If you find you drank too much and feel that running after drinking the night before will do more damage than good, postpone your workout until the evening. The extra hours will give your body time to process the toxins out of your system, and you’ll have more time to re-hydrate and replenish your body with nutrients.

Balance is Everything

A balanced lifestyle is important. You can have a fulfilling social life and be committed to running if you just make some small but smart choices when you are out drinking. You’ll have fun and get the most out of your run the next day. Cheers!

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