More ways to rejoin the living the morning after

Lots of it. The primary cause of a hangover is dehydration, so this is the simplest and most necessary element of hangover recovery. Drink a pint before you go to bed, and more when you wake up in the night. If water isn't high-tech enough for you, add a sachet of Dioralyte, or stock up on specialist energy drinks such as Lipovitan, which contains ginseng, royal jelly and B-vitamins, 99p a can at supermarkets.

Vitamin boost

Alcohol destroys vitamins in the body, so make sure you replenish them. Ester-C is a form of vitamin C which is gentle on your stomach, unlike orange juice (around £8 for 50 tablets, at chemists), while Berocca, a soluble vitamin supplement containing vitamin B and other nutrients, is popular with Tara Palmer Tomkinson and Vinnie Jones as an anti-hangover tonic, and vitamin-B-supplement Morning Fit (£9.99 from the NutriCentre, 0800 587 2290) has been shown in a double-blind study to reduce symptoms of hangovers.

Take it easy

"Don't make the mistake of exercising hard after consuming alcohol," says personal trainer Michael Garry (07958 302 798), who is based at the Connaught hotel. "Alcohol has severe effects on physical peformance. It also dehydrates you, and if you start sweating, you will dehydrate further, and you don't want to do that. Drink plenty of water. If you must do something, go for a nice slow walk, and wait until you're feeling better before attempting serious exercise."

The detox footbath

Put your feet in the warm Aqua-Detox footbath and relax while the alternating electrical current helps draw toxins out of the soles of your feet. "Hangovers create acidity in the body," says practitioner Lilias Cutin (020 7731 4715). "Aqua Detox helps to reduce the acidity and detox the liver, which helps the body to rebalance itself."

Acupuncture

"Hangovers usually mean pain in the head," says top acupuncturist Pierre-Jean Cousin (020 7376 1199), "and this is frequently accompanied by symptoms of nausea and indigestion. If the practitioner uses points on the liver and stomach meridiens, the pain disappears. Add some water, to rehydrate the body, and the job is done."

The herbal alternative

Milk thistle is the remedy that herbalists swear by. It supports the liver by preventing the depletion of glutathione, an amino-acid-like compound which the body needs in order to destroy toxins and environmental pollutants. Start taking it a day or two before you really need it, to get your liver in top form (Cynara Milk Thistle, £7.99, from Boots, or Healthcrafts Milkthistle, £5.89, from Superdrug).

The homeopathic alternative

"Homeopathic remedies are usually individualsed," says Nigel Summerley, homeopath at the Whole Clinic (07985 557 265), "meaning that different remedies work for different people - but nux vomica, which comes from the same plant as strychnine, seems to work for almost everyone. Take it just before you go to sleep, to head off the effects of a hangover, preferably in a high potency such as nux vomica 200. If you forget, then take it when you get up."

Eat yourself better

Robbie Williams may favour a Mars bar and a carton of Ribena for his hangovers, but most people rely on toast, a fryup or a bacon sandwich, according to a recent survey. (The carbohydrate in the bread will quickly raise blood sugar levels.) The British Nutrition Foundation, however, would prefer that you chose a fruit smoothie. This will, says nutritionist Anne Nugent, help to settle the stomach and neutralise any acid reflux.

Alka-Seltzer Rapid

The aspirin that these contain may only help to dull the pain, but the nation's favourite morning-after-the-night-before remedy is now available in the form of crystals which you pour straight into your mouth (£2.99 for 10 sachets). Follow with lots of water, for maximum restorative effect.