Forget about hangover remedies like raw eggs, hair of the dog, or yoga—simple caffeine and a painkiller are best for easing an alcohol-induced sore head, according to a new study. Neurologist Michael Oshinsky and colleagues used ethanol to induce hangover-like headaches in rats. They found that the caffeine in coffee and the anti-inflammatory ingredients of aspirin and other painkillers successfully blocked the chemical causing the headaches, the Telegraph reports.
"None of the commonly cited causes of hangovers could have caused this response," Oshinsky tells New Scientist, noting that the rats did not suffer dehydration. He recommends caffeine and painkillers be taken roughly four hours after alcohol consumption, as this is when levels of the headache-inducing chemical acetate are at their highest. (More aspirin stories.)