Summertime can mean lounging by the pool, time at the beach, and cooling off with minty cocktails or beers. But where there's drinking — especially a lot of it — there's a chance for a hangover.
The heat and sun exposure could also leave you feeling groggy after an afternoon of day drinking.
Here are four tips to help you enjoy summer fun without it ending in a pounding headache.
Avoid sugary drinks, beers, and wine
Reaching for a beer or a sugary wine cooler might be tempting in the summer heat, but can make your hangover a lot worse.
Because your liver is processing both the sugar from your drink and the alcohol you consumed, your blood sugar level drops.
"Keep your drinks as clean as possible," Wendy Leonard, a registered dietitian nutritionist, told Insider. "Opt for higher-end alcohol, preferably not wheat-based. Limit super-sweet mixers, including those with artificial sweeteners. Avoid wines high in preservatives, especially red wine if you get headaches."
She recommended vodka with seltzer and a splash of cranberry, along with a lime.
Any dark drinks or drinks that are artificially colored could give you a hangover later in the day
In addition to the sugar level of your drink, look out for what color it is as well.
Dr. Jim Schaefer, a professor of anthropology at Union College who studies alcohol metabolism, told Men's Journal that dark wines, beer, and liquor all get their color from congeners — byproducts produced during fermentation.
"The color is basically a chemical soup," Schaefer told Men's Journal. "Your body has to process the chemicals on top of the alcohol— that means it takes longer to get them out of your system."
Drinking alcohol with more congeners in it typically gives people worse hangovers, according to the Journal of Alcohol and Alcoholism,
Swig a large glass of water between drinks
Watch our for dehydration in general when drinking, but especially in the hot summer sun.
Since alcohol is a diuretic — which cause the bod to get rid of water by peeing — it can dehydrate you pretty quickly, according to Stanford University's Office of Alcohol Policy and Education.
"Be careful with dehydration. I always recommend drinking a large glass of water in between your alcoholic beverages," Leonard said. "This will slow you down a bit as well as help detox as you go. I like to tell my patients 'dilution is the solution to pollution.'"
Make sure to get some time in the shade
While exposure to the sun doesn't directly affect your body's ability to process alcohol, it can leave you more vulnerable to dehydration.
Alcohol can also interfere with your body's ability to control heat, which can even lead to heat stroke.
If you're too drunk and don't pay attention to the warning signs like cramps and heat exhaustion, you could end up with damage to your brain or your other internal organs, according to WedMD.
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