Sports drink for a hangover: does Gatorade actually help?

Is a sports drink good for a hangover?

Sports drinks are built for exercise: water, sugar for quick energy, and a modest amount of sodium and potassium to replace what you lose in sweat. After a night of drinking, the useful part is mostly the water. Alcohol increases urine output while you drink, and many people wake up thirsty with a dry mouth, so getting fluid back in is a sensible first step.

If a cold, flavored drink is easier to finish than a glass of water, that is a practical reason to reach for one. The sugar and electrolytes are not a hangover treatment, though, and nothing on a sports drink label is a hangover claim. Think of it as a pleasant way to drink fluid, not a fix.

Sources: Hangovers: causes, remedies, and safety; Swift & Davidson, 1998: Alcohol hangover, mechanisms and mediators

Sports drink vs water: what a hydration trial found

The most direct comparison comes from a randomized trial at Loughborough University. Seventy-two men drank one litre of still water or another common drink, 13 drinks in all, and researchers measured how much they urinated over the next four hours. Three drinks kept more fluid in the body than water: an oral rehydration solution, full-fat milk and skimmed milk. The sports drink was no different from water, and neither were cola, coffee, tea, orange juice or lager.

The volunteers were sober and well hydrated when they drank, so this is not a hangover study. It does answer the narrower question people are really asking: a sports drink hydrates you about as well as water does, not better.

Sources: Maughan et al., 2016: A beverage hydration index (13 drinks compared)

Gatorade or Pedialyte for a hangover?

Pedialyte belongs to a different category: an oral electrolyte solution, which typically carries more sodium and less sugar than a sports drink. In the trial above, the oral rehydration solution was the drink that beat water. If your real problem is fluid loss, for example after vomiting, an oral rehydration solution is the stronger choice.

That still does not make it a hangover remedy. When researchers measured blood and urine the morning after drinking, electrolyte levels and dehydration markers such as vasopressin were not significantly related to how severe the hangover was. Our guide to electrolytes for a hangover goes deeper on Pedialyte and oral rehydration solutions.

Sources: Maughan et al., 2016: A beverage hydration index (13 drinks compared); Penning et al., 2010: The pathology of alcohol hangover

Why rehydrating only fixes part of a hangover

Alcohol suppresses the hormone that tells your kidneys to hold on to water, so you urinate more while you drink. That explains the thirst. But a hangover has several overlapping causes: disrupted sleep, stomach irritation, immune signaling, and acetaldehyde, the toxic by-product of alcohol metabolism. In human studies the strongest link to hangover severity was immune activity, not hydration.

That is why you can drink a full bottle of Gatorade, stop feeling thirsty, and still feel hungover. Our explainer on whether alcohol dehydrates you covers the mechanism in detail.

Sources: Penning et al., 2010: The pathology of alcohol hangover; Swift & Davidson, 1998: Alcohol hangover, mechanisms and mediators

How to use a sports drink the morning after

If you want a sports drink, use it the way you would use water: steadily, alongside food and rest.

• Sip rather than chug, especially if your stomach is unsettled, and alternate with water.
• Check sugar and sodium on the Nutrition Facts panel; a low-sugar version may sit better.
• Eat something simple if you can keep it down.
• Skip "hair of the dog": more alcohol only gives your body more to clear.
• Confusion, vomiting while barely responsive, slow or irregular breathing, or a person you cannot wake: call 911. That is alcohol poisoning, not a hangover.

Sources: Understanding the dangers of alcohol overdose

Where Joyrise fits, and where it does not

Joyrise is not a sports drink or a hydration product, and it does not replace water. If you want both, drink fluids for thirst and follow the Joyrise label separately. Joyrise is an Alcohol Metabolizing Aid: a DHM supplement built around dihydromyricetin. The capsule label says to take 3 capsules while consuming alcohol, or before bed. Do not exceed 3 servings (9 capsules) per day. Much of the alcohol-related DHM evidence is preclinical, and Joyrise does not lower BAC, reverse impairment, or make driving safe. Read the full directions and warnings on our Alcohol Metabolizing Aid capsules page before you buy.

Sources: Joyrise capsules: product page and current label; Shen et al., 2012: DHM and alcohol-related signaling