Should I exercise with a hangover?

Question: Should I exercise with a hangover?

Answer: Drink too much last night? You may think that sweating it out with a little exercise will help cure your hangover. But, the truth is, strenuous exercise isn't the best idea after too many cocktails. Some reasons you may want to skip a hard workout:

• Dehydration. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it causes the body to lose more water than it takes on. It's often this occurrence that causes many of the symptoms of a hangover like dry mouth, headaches and nausea. Exercising and sweating can actually cause you to dehydrate even more.
• Clumsiness. When you're hungover, you may be more uncoordinated than usual and more apt to injure yourself.
• General ickiness. Drinking too much puts stress on the body and everything becomes harder, especially exercise. Working out when you feel bad can make you feel even worse.

Instead of a hardcore workout, try drinking plenty of water, eating healthy meals and stick with lighter workouts like stretching or yoga. Some of these workouts might soothe your hungover body:

• Gentle Yoga Stretch
• Morning and Evening Yoga
• Total Stretch with Resistance Bands
• Relaxing Stretch on the Ball