Regardless of the result and either drowning our sorrows or celebrating, no doubt a few of us will have a hang over after this weekends big game. And if not his weekend, Christmas is on the way, and no doubt a bit of boozing with it. When we have that hangover some of us choose to spend those painful hours on the sofa, eating takeaways and binge-watching Netflix, while others of us choose to blow away the cobwebs with a footie session to ‘sweat out’ the previous nights’ excesses. The big question is, which is better?
Your choice of course may depend how bad the hangover is. If you’re drunk still, throwing up or physically unable to get out of bed, then it’s best to choose a bit of rest, however if you’re just suffering with a headache and tiredness, you have a choice.
Can You Sweat it Out? No, we feel better after exercising NOT because we have sweat the alcohol out, rather the exercise has released endorphins, the feel good hormones and increased our alertness. It’s making us feel more alive again, seems like pretty good reason to exercise.
Lack of Sleep. One of the causes of that ill feeling is the lack of deep and restful sleep. So while exercise doesn’t directly fix that, playing our game of footy will help to physically tire us out, so when we’re ready for bed the night after, our minds and bodies will both be set up for a great nights sleep.
Is there more Risk of Injury?There isn’t any research that has connected the risks of exercising and injury when hungover, that said it makes sense to not overdo it, play at a sensible pace and appropriate level of commitment.
So getting out and getting a game can be a good idea to help get ourselves back to normal, here’s some extra things to think about:
Re-hydrate before, after and during our game
Keep the intensity sensible
Keep things simple, short simple passes, not raking 50 metre balls 🤣
We might not be at our Messi like best, but at least we are KEEPING PLAYING and KEEPING OTHERS PLAYING TOO. See you at your games this week.
