If you’ve ever woken up the morning after a night of overindulgence with pounding headaches, nausea, and overall crankiness, you know how painful hangovers can be. And if you’ve tried to power through one of these days by chugging energy drinks or eating handfuls of painkillers, you’ve likely learned that it isn’t the most effective way to combat this ailment.

A hangover powder, also known as a hangover cure or hangover prevention pill, is an alternative to traditional treatments that help you recover from the horrible effects of a night of drinking. These powders are easy to carry around and can be used at any time to keep you from getting sick after drinking too much alcohol! Check out these five benefits of a hangover powder.

Promotes Hydration

It’s easy to forget that while alcohol is technically considered a diuretic, it still dehydrates you. Some brands even contain high levels of sugar, so it’s essential to stay hydrated when drinking. Drinking too much without replacing vital electrolytes can leave you with headaches and dizziness in addition to potential dehydration—which is why some people turn to hangover powders when they drink. A good hangover powder will help rehydrate you while also helping you feel better overall after your night out. It can be used before or after drinking, or both!

Reduces Headaches

A hangover powder can help reduce headaches after drinking alcohol. It’s not just dehydration that gives you headaches, but also ethanol itself. Ethanol is toxic to cells in your body, and when these cells are flushed with alcohol, they release inflammatory proteins called cytokines that create nasty effects like nausea and headaches. A hangover powder helps fight back by eliminating ethanol from your system and preventing additional inflammatory compounds from being released into your bloodstream. By reducing both ethanol and inflammation, you can avoid feeling like death during those first morning hours—and you’ll sleep better too!

Decreases Bloating

Although it’s not entirely clear why hangovers cause bloating, it’s possible that bloating occurs as a result of consuming too much alcohol. Alcohol is a diuretic, which means that it makes you have to urinate more frequently. One study found that drinking two beers resulted in participants urinating every 44 minutes while drinking two mixed drinks resulted in participants urinating every 25 minutes. The more often you urinate during your night out on the town, the more water you lose through urine—and water retention can be one of the things that causes bloats after drinking too much alcohol. A hangover powder that contains electrolytes can help replenish some of those lost electrolytes and lead to less bloating after an intense night out with friends.

Prevents Cramps

A hangover powder prevents cramps because it helps you stay hydrated while also replacing some of your electrolytes lost when you drink alcohol. After drinking too much, you’ll wake up with terrible muscle cramps in places like your calves, back, and even legs. This happens because our bodies sweat out large amounts of electrolytes through our pores while we are sleeping at night. If you aren’t properly rehydrating before bed, then these essential minerals will be flushed out by morning. However, if you have a hangover powder on hand, it will help stop these painful cramps so that you can get out of bed to start another day feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.