Coffee the next morning is a mixed bag. Some swear
by it because the jolt of caffeine moves them away from the depressed hangover
state. Others find that it works for a short spell, then plunges you back into
the purgatory of day-long pain. The best bet is to drink a good combination of
fluids on the next day—it flushes your system, which also gets rid of some of
the alcohol lurking there. In a slightly grosser note, in certain individuals
certain drinks (cheap, gas-station style coffee) tend to produce a need to go
to the bathroom, but at least it begins to clean their systems of toxins.
Hair of the Dog
One of my friends in college swore by the
controversial "hair of the dog" approach. Logically, "hair of
the dog" makes sense—a hangover is, in effect, your body calling out for
more alcohol. Why not give it what it wants? Well, eventually (unless you're
Nicholas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas), you'll have to stop drinking, and then
you'll be dealing with a massive, remedy-proof hangover, perhaps on a workday.
Foods
I prefer breaded foods to cure hangovers—pancakes
seem an especially positive option on those mornings. The worst thing you
can do is not eat. I tried not eating on three occasions in college, and three
of the more miserable days of my life resulted. Conversely, I once ordered an
entire platter of Chicken Fried Rice, and spent an additional 2 days in the
pits of hangover hell. Avoid greasy, fat-laden foods. Try to keep your approach
basic—bread, maybe with something on it, and water. You'll feel like an inmate,
yes, but physically aren't you already feeling imprisoned?
Some bartenders tell patrons to eat an entire
pepper on the morning after. I'm not entirely sure what this would do, although
I guess it would make you cringe so much that you'd forget about the hangover,
the events of the night before, and just about everything else about the past
ten years. I once accidentally ate a pepper while completely sober, and it
destroyed my night—I can't imagine what ingesting one of those things while
suffering would be like.