In this riveting episode of "That Other Lifestyle Podcast", host Jason focuses on a rarely spotlighted issue - coping with the after-effects of electrifying lifestyle parties. Jason, drawing from his personal experiences, provides in-depth insights on how to recuperate after an intense night or party-filled weekend and gear up swiftly for the next round of festivities.
The episode kicks off with an open discussion on hangovers ensuing legendary lifestyle parties and how sometimes, age comes into play. Catering to a diverse audience, Jason takes a broad-minded approach, as he heads into a trip down memory lane featuring his hangover-laden weekend experiences that led to a deeper exploration of recovery strategies.
With noticeable dearth of advice on effective hangover recovery, Jason bravely delves into the science of recovery. His practical advice ranges from preparing recovery meals to stashing up on sleep in advance. He balances popular conventions with scientific advancements and shares his personal hangover product recommendations, emphasising the significance of independent research and custom choices.
The episode doesn't shy away from highlighting the importance of setting alcohol consumption boundaries and the instrumental role of a spouse in ensuring responsible revelry. It is an infusion of useful tips and experiences that help listeners prepare not only for unforgettable parties, but also for the aftermath, enabling them to recover quickly and continue seeking intriguing lifestyle adventures.
While outlining the potential dangers of driving under the influence and the benefits of having a partying system, Jason busts the common myth of using bread to "soak" alcohol. The episode underscores the benefits of staying hydrated and provides valuable advice for managing alcohol-induced discomfort. Although the podcast addresses the aftermath of overdrinking and its unpleasant symptoms, the focus isn't on creating guilt but learning from these experiences.
In the latter part of the episode, Jason discusses how to prepare a 'recovery bag' and comfortable recovery space at home, and he sheds lights on calorie considerations associated with alcohol consumption. Above all, Jason urges listeners to stand up against peer pressure and prioritize personal safety and comfort in their lifestyle partying decisions. This episode of "That Other Lifestyle Podcast" is indeed a priceless guide for those looking to party responsibly without losing out on fun.
Transcript
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Wherever you may be, I hope you have blue skies and you share this podcast with a friend. Welcome to That Other Lifestyle Podcast. I am your host, Jason. Take a listen and leave vanilla behind. If you were tuned in today hoping for sexy stories of erotic escapades, we ain't talking about that. Instead, I decided to help you. You need this help. We need to talk about recovering from all the wicked activities we engage in every single weekend. Trigger warning. I will be discussing alcohol today. This is your one warning.
This episode is not encouraging anyone to drink alcohol, and if you're currently sober or abstaining from alcohol, good for you. There may still be some useful information in here somewhere for you. I am not advocating that you engage in drinking alcohol, nor am I telling anyone that you need to drink. You're an adult. Make up your own mind. Subscribing to the podcast wherever you may be listening is a big help to me. This show is also available on YouTube and Full Swap Radio. Thinking about dipping your toes in, you can find a link to sign up for SDC on my website, thatotherlifestyle.com.
I also have a Patreon, patreon.com slash thatotherlifestyle. Head over there if you want ad-free episodes and other spicy bonus content. Please note this podcast is intended for adults only. It is not safe for work. We will be talking about adult or sexual topics, and I will use salty language often. This content is for entertainment purposes only, and again, only for those over 18 years of age. I also try to be as inclusive with my language and terms as I can. It can be challenging to formulate and write and say all the inclusive terms in every instance.
For simplicity's sake and time management, I may use terms like husband or wife or partner or spouse for the purpose of the narrative I'm sharing. This podcast is for everyone though, no matter your background, gender identity, gender expression, or whatever truth you may be living, everyone is welcome no matter how you personally experience a lifestyle or ethical non-monogamy. This episode is inspired by my own experiences as most of the content is. My wife and I went on a lifestyle cruise two weeks ago, spent five days drinking and partying beneath the Caribbean sun.
When we came home and the following weekend, we went to a lifestyle rave at a hotel in another state. That's like three weekends in a row of hardcore partying and traveling. I share that because I spent most of the following Sunday wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, feeling frazzled, tired, mentally drained, contemplating my life choices when I was hit with a flash of inspiration. If I am this miserable at this moment, I bet there are other people miserable with the same ailment at the same moment on the downside of recovery. How come no one told me how to deal with this?
No one is giving out advice on recovery. No one talks about how to recover from a night of debauchery. And is there any advice available on how to recover better and faster? And can that rat bastard science help us all for once? Age is catching up with me. Not mentally. Mentally, I'm still 20 and physically, but physically, everything hurts and I'm dying. It might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but as we get older, it becomes harder and harder to bounce back from those crazy nights. Our collective hobby is having sex with people we meet on the internet.
Along the way, we party and dance and drink and celebrate the joy of living with our lifestyle friends. We will go out all night, watch the sun come up, then drag our happy asses back to our vanilla lives on Monday morning. We will curse the hangovers and then do it again next weekend. I don't know if anyone else finds it super awkward on Monday mornings going back to work. My co-workers are all chipper and happy and had wonderfully restful weekends.
Me, on the other hand, spent hours in a dark room, pounding music making my ears ring, while 100 costumed or near-naked people shuffled around me. Yeah, the ATAR lady had a great weekend with her kids, which she will then tell everyone about in detail. I, on the other hand, cannot share a single detail of what I did and what I will probably do again. My co-workers think I'm the most boring person alive, and I'm okay with that. So let's talk about recovery. How to recover from a night of festivities. If partying is an art, then recovery is a science.
What can be done ahead of time to mitigate the physical and mental damage, and how can we recover gracefully from a weekend of fun? The thought is crossing your mind why this topic of STEAM podcast host, Jason. You think, hey man, I'm a smart person. I know how to recover from a hangover. Back in college in my early 20s, all it took to shake off a hangover was a hot shower, cup of coffee, and an aspirin. First, we are not 20 years old anymore, and I know most of my listeners are not in their 20s. You may not have partied hard in over 20 years, especially if you're a newbie.
That social hour with co-workers on a Thursday evening in a bar is nothing compared to lifestyle events. The sad truth is, the older you get, the harder a hangover will smack you in the face and the longer it takes to feel normal again. I need a disclaimer right about here. I'm not a medical professional. Talk to a doctor if you need to. I'm not here to give medical advice. You do you. You're an adult who can make your own decisions. If I mention a product or supplement in this show or any other episode, it's on you, the listener, to do your own research.
Again, this is not medical advice, just general life advice. Take it or leave it. I will be referencing drinking alcohol in this episode. This is not a suggestion that you should. If you are sober, good for you. If you don't like alcohol, it is totally not necessary to enjoy the lifestyle. This advice is still useful though because staying up for 30 hours straight takes skill to recover from as well. And if you have a drug or alcohol problem, go get treatment. My advice on this subject is for those who may party one or two weekends a month or a quarter or a year.
This is for those who jump into the merriment every now and then and need advice on dealing with the consequences. And I'm going to mention parties a lot. There's a lot of different kinds of parties that fall under this umbrella. It might be a house party or a hotel takeover or maybe a multi-day cruise. Wherever five or more swingers gather, that's a party. When people join the lifestyle, they can be overwhelmed with the events.
I ain't talking about you and the girls sitting around on a Friday night sharing a single bottle of wine in a charcuterie board, or maybe you're chilling with the boys at a local bar watching a game. No, these parties are room-shaking, brain-melting affairs with music and lights that go on for hours, and it's super easy to go till dawn. When was the last time you watched the sun set and rise without going to sleep at all? When was the last time you and 50 of your friends danced and drank and shouted and lived all night long?
And I'm not even talking about the possible late night cardio you could engage in. I don't know when the last time was you did all that, but science has come a long way since then in mitigating and managing hangovers. Yes, when you were in your 20s, you could pound beers all night, then shuffle off to work the next day. The young do not appreciate their resiliency. But as we get older, it takes longer to recover from even a single night of heathen escapades. Sad part, or maybe the happy part, I know we're going to do it again. You're going to do it again.
We are going to revel in life hard again and again. So we might as well be smart about it, right? Prep what we can, alleviate, and hopefully feel better by Monday morning. Leading up to an event, what can you do to help moderate the negative effects of all that drinking and bad eating and staying up late at night? Being generally healthy helps. Working out helps. If you feel good physically going into a party, you can come out the other side feeling better.
If you're the kind of person who watches their diet and maintains a fairly healthy lifestyle, keep in mind that you will be consuming copious amounts of liquid calories and possibly eating whatever food is in front of you. People can mitigate the long-term effects of one night of insanity by sticking to a good diet during the week. This is not an activity anyone should do every weekend though. For instance, if you stick to a calorie range or a diet during the week, one night of partying, it's going to have a small effect.
You may gain a few pounds from water retention, which is totally normal, and you're going to shed that in the following days. Don't freak out. One night, small effect. Multiple weekends, multiple nights, big effect. Before leaving the house for a party, do this. Prep a recovery meal so when you get home, no thinking. You just take the dish, you put it in the microwave, and eat. It saves you the trouble of cooking. I recommend sweet potatoes, maybe a lean meat, chicken, broccoli, light carbs like crackers. Think healthy. Think filling.
Stay away from strong flavors because if your stomach is currently staging a rebellion against your body, bland is better. Leading up to the party, the day of the party. Look for foods high in fats, electrolytes and fiber, like sweet potatoes. I love sweet potatoes. Berries and fruit are good too. Avocado toast? Believe it or not, either pre-party or post-party just hits. Perfect. There's also good foods. These are also good foods because they tend not to cause bloating. Nothing is worse than getting into a sexy costume and feeling bloated and blah.
Pro tip, in case of bloating, heat works really well, like a heating pad or a hot bath. And another tip is movement. Go for a walk. It speeds up digestion. There are medications that can help, but who the hell has those just around? Remember, walking and taking a bath help with bloating. Carbs can be a friend at moderation. And I ain't talking about carbo-loading here. Do not eat three servings of pasta the night of a party. And there is that old wisdom of eating a bunch of carbs like bread and biscuits before you start drinking so it soaks up the alcohol? Logically, it makes a little sense.
Scientifically, no. We're going to talk about that later. No evidence of that one working. What I do recommend though is a line of products from Blowfish. Go to 4hangovers.com. F-O-R hangovers.com. Blowfish has a line of products specifically made to help mitigate hangovers. There's a product called Blowfish Wingman. I cannot recommend this enough, but again, do your own personal research. Always do that when someone recommends a supplement. Blowfish Wingman, I've been using this for a while and I love it. This is not a paid advertisement either.
This is me being nice, telling all my friends out there about a product that can help tremendously. I may have an affiliate link to share with everyone for Blowfish in the future at all right now. So no pressure though. Get it however you want. Blowfish Wingman is a pill. You take three prior to drinking. The magic is the supplement contains, I'm going to butcher this word, dihydromyricetin or DMH. I hope I don't say that again. I have no idea if I said that right. DHM. That's what we're looking for. DHM. Also known as amplibusin, meh, is a flavonoid derived from the Japanese raisin tree.
Hey, I can say that. It has been used in traditional Eastern medicine to treat a variety of ailments. Research suggests that DHM increases the activity of the liver, thereby metabolizing alcohol and its toxic byproducts faster. In my experience, if I take this before we have the first drink, no hangover headache. You still feel rough, but no headache. Let me clarify, no brain splitting headaches. I still feel blah and beat up, but I don't have that headache, which for me, that's the worst part.
Again, do your own research on this, but like I said, science has come a long way in 20 or 30 years since the last time you partied, and we now have options, right, to help fight off hangovers. There's also probiotic pills and powders out there that claim to aid or prevent hangovers. I have no personal experience with these products, though. I can tell you Blowfish Wingman works. Blowfish also makes this line of fizzy tablets of her hangovers, though I can't see a difference between their brand and regular old Alka-Seltzer. If you have a preventative you like, take it.
If you find one that works, recommend it to a friend. The day of the party. Take a nap. Even if you're not a nap person, a nap helps, especially if you're used to going to bed at like nine o'clock every night your normal circadian rhythm is about to be knocked for a loop and as my mother always told me nothing good happens after midnight and she is totally correct all the fun fuckery happens after midnight the parties hit that crescendo of excitement after midnight things get weird after midnight so people need to be able to stay up till at least midnight.
So naps help bank that sleep during the day. The party may not start till nine or 10 o'clock at night. Why can we not just start parties at three in the afternoon? No, we have to wait till the sun goes down and we can hide all of our frisky endeavors under the cover of darkness. You do some ho shit, dance, drink, have a great time. You may even engage in vigorous cardio with a nice couple repeatedly before you crash for the night. What activities you may do, please do them responsibly. You do not have to get blackout drunk to have fun.
You do not have to push your personal alcohol limit to have fun. One drink every two hours is sufficient for most people. Remember, the harder you go at the party, the harder the hangover is going to slap you in the face. Make a decision before you start drinking. Set your limit for the night and stick to it. Get your spouse to help you stick to that limit. If you're at the point of throwing up, that is a sign of alcohol poisoning and you went too hard. Next time, back off that level a little bit. Learn your limits. If you're done at four drinks, drink three and keep partying.
No one says you have to hit that wall every single time. I need to reiterate a point here. Your spouse is your best-wing man. I suggest y'all taking turns getting inebriated at parties like you do this time and then I do next time. That way, at least one of you is sober and functional and able to manage any situation that comes up. If you're both hammered beyond comprehension, that is a recipe for disaster because there's no voice of reason. Just two drunk people encouraging each other to do even more and more stupid shit. Work out a system where you can both take turns at parties.
Plus, if one of you is having a really bad night, like hugging the toilet kind of night, there's somebody there to take care of you. So we did the party, and now you're back home or you're in a hotel room. Oh yeah, do not drink and drive. Do not drink and drive. Let me say it again. Do not drink and drive. There are more than enough Ubers and Lyfts and taxis out there in the world. There is absolutely no reason to drink and drive home ever. Line up transportation before the event starts. So we're back home. What now? Now begins the mitigation phase of the night.
When sleep finally claims your poor drunken soul, you will wake up feeling horrible or kind of okay. The power is yours. Or at least there's a few little things you can do right now at this point in the story to help the misery phase that is quickly approaching. I know someone out there will go way too hard and will vomit. It happens. Don't be ashamed of it. Just roll with it. Get all that nastiness out of your body and learn from this moment. Drink water. It sounds simple and dumb and it is and it is effective.
You should really be drinking water all night, at least eight ounces per drink consumed. But Jason, then I will have to pee all night, you think. So? Oh no, you have to go pee. That is a small price to pay to not feel completely destroyed the next day. If you can, if you have it on hand and have the fourth ought to grab it, drink a sports drink. Anything with electrolytes in it will help. Fruit is also good. Again, there's that old wisdom of eating bread to soak up the alcohol or maybe greasy food late at night. Science says no. That may be a bad idea. It is not soaking up anything.
The logic being, the bread in your stomach will soak up the alcohol in there and that way your body can just sneak it out without the liver noticing. Just smuggle all those ethanol molecules out of your body. No, does not work that way. Your body has to process everything that goes into it. No amount of bread will keep your liver from having to process all the alcohol you drink. Digestion will happen and the body has to process the alcohol on through the system. You lay down in bed. The room may be spinning, which sucks.
To manage the spins, try putting a foot on the floor, hand on the headboard. Honestly, I've never found this to work, but someone will always suggest it. Hopefully, you go to sleep reasonably quickly because the next few hours could be miserable. My recommendation is, dun-da-da, prepare a recovery bag. I'm a big advocate of having a hoe bag, like a little clutch or makeup bag where you carry all your sex supplies like condoms and lube so you always have them. Make another bag for recovery. The idea for this came about because my drunk ass was stumbling around a dark hotel room at 4 a.m.
trying desperately to find Pepto-Bismol and Tums without waking up my wife. There was cussing. There was confusion. I was digging through suitcases like a demented goblin. Blowfish wingman. It will help not to get the hangover headache. It does zero for indigestion and heartburn. There has to be a better way. There has to be a container-like object. I can put all the supplies I need to deal with a night and day of recovering right next to my bed. This is not a world-changing idea. But if you're one of those people who have not partied hard in 10-20 years, yes, you need this.
When you were 21, your dumbass did not need all these medications to make it through the night. Now you do. Now you need a place to keep everything, hence recovery bag. A recovery bag is stocked with the stuff you need to feel better. For your head, aspirin or you prefer pain reliever. For your stomach, Pepto-Bismol and Tums. Because guess what? As we age, heartburn from drinking becomes a thing. And it is a royal bitch. Drinking to please natural levels of electrolytes. So pack powdered Gatorade or liquid IV.
I like the powders because they're easy to store and transport instead of a bunch of bottles. Oh, another golden thing to add. hair ties and wet wipes. If someone is worshiping the porcelain god by the end of the night, a hair tie will keep things from getting nastier, and wet wipes are really good for cleanup. And pro tip, put a $20 bill in your recovery bag. If you stay at a hotel and get sick in the middle of the night, leave a tip for the housekeeping staff who have to clean up that room after you leave. Hangovers can be made worse by certain types of alcohol.
Alcohols that contain congeniters can cause worse hangovers than alcohols without them. So what the hell is a congenitor? I'm saying that wrong. Congeniters are compounds produced during fermentation. Dark colored liquids have a lot of flavor, like whiskeys and bourbons and dark rums contain congeniters, which can cause worse hangovers compared to clear liquors like vodka or tequila. As a side note, colored or aged tequila will kick your ass. The other compound that can cause worse hangovers is sulfates. These are compounds added to wine as a preservative. Think red wine.
Some people like me cannot drink wine or else I get an instant migraine. They even show up in foods. There's also a calorie consideration if you're one of those people who watch their calorie intake. Calories from drinks can add up quickly. There is a reason it used to be called a liquid lunch. Alcohol has at least 90 calories, maybe more, per shot. Add in a mixer and you could be looking at 200 or 300 calories calorie drink easily, especially with those big cocktails. Have four of those and you just add an extra 1,000 calories to your day.
For reference, most wine has about 200 calories per 8 ounces, so you can totally blow a diet with one night of drinking. Let's nerd out for a minute. What is a hangover exactly? From the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, that's a depressing name, a hangover is a combination of factors. Quote, one, mild dehydration. Alcohol suppresses the release of vasopressin, a hormone produced by the brain that sends signals to the kidneys, causing them to retain fluid. As a result, alcohol increases urination and excess loss of fluids.
The mild dehydration that results likely contributes to hangover symptoms such as thirst, fatigue, and a headache. Number two, disruptive sleep. People may fall asleep faster after drinking alcohol, but their sleep is fragmented. I am totally guilty of this, and they tend to wake up earlier. This contributes to fatigue as well as lost productivity. Number three, gastrointestinal irritation. Alcohol directly irritates the lining of the stomach and increases acid release, hence my indigestion. This can lead to nausea and stomach discomfort. Inflammation.
Alcohol increases inflammation in the body. Inflammation contributes to the malaise that people feel when they are sick, so it may play a role in hangover symptoms as well. Number five, acetyl-y exposure. I'm so butchering these words. Alcohol metabolism, primary by the liver, creates the compound acetyl-y, a toxic short-lived byproduct which contributes to inflammation in the liver, pancreas, brain, gastrointestinal tract, and other organs. Many withdraw.
While drinking, individuals may feel calmer, more relaxed, and even euphoric, but the brain quickly adjusts to those positive effects as it tries to maintain balance. As a result, when the buzz wears off, people can feel more restless and anxious than before they drink. That is all very depressing. Thank you, Jason, for sharing that. You may have a hangover. You will probably have a hangover, especially if you're not accustomed to drinking at all. Hangovers suck. Hangovers get worse the older you get. They go from like six hours long to just three days easy.
I wanted everyone to know what we deal with when we get hangovers. It is a vile, mean combination of factors. Even without alcohol, a night of partying can be stressful and taxing for everyone. Besides disrupted sleep, there's also a mental component. I know there are introverts out there listening to me right now and extroverts who have no idea what I'm talking about. For introverted people, a party is exhausting. Having to be on, be sociable, be friendly for hours, that can take a mental toll.
I know introverted people personally and can attest that, yeah, parties and events and lifestyle fun can be mentally draining on them and they also need a few days to recover. But I am proud they showed up and had fun. Diving back into the recovery conversation, I have a few hangover remedies, not cures, you can try. Nothing is foolproof though. There is not a single method or medication or drink or substance out there that can instantly cure a hangover because a hangover is your body processing alcohol and eliminating the poison because yeah it's technically a poison out of your body.
My first possible remedy for you is to work out. Ain't gonna lie this is condensed suffering. Find a treadmill or an elliptical or go for a walk. You want to work up a sweat go for at least 20 minutes. I had a buddy tell me about this method years ago back when we weren't in the lifestyle and I did not believe it. One morning after Thank you. The next option is food. Eat something. Granted, your stomach may be in knots and the thought of eating anything will cause instant nausea, but it does help. Go light, maybe a biscuit or two. Crackers are a good option. And drink water. Lots of water.
You're probably dehydrated to begin with and more water will help speed up the flushing process. So you head home from the party. You got your crackers. You got your water. Lots of water. You're probably dehydrated to begin with, and more water will help speed up the flushing process. So you head home from the party, you got your crackers, you got your water, now what? Now you rest if you can.
I know a lot of my listeners probably have children they're responsible for, and for some reason children know the exact moment to make as much noise as humanly possible with every electronic device you own. They might even get a dog on it. Don't have a dog? It's okay. They're going to find one just to make more noise. If possible, if you had someone watching your kids the night before, try to buy yourself a few extra hours the day after so you can just curl up on the couch and decompress. Remember, the hangover is the balance. It is not a penance from the universe for you having fun.
It's more of a realignment of the celestial bodies. You partied. Now there's a time of discomfort while everything just rebalances. Now you could certainly join the chorus of poor bastards who swear they will never drink again and stay out all night again. You could, but you probably won't. Look for the positive in the pain. You learn. You learn your limit. You learn where is that line you cannot bounce back from. Talk to your partner. Debrief on the night you had. And if they took care of you while you were drunk, crying, and throwing up, do something nice for them.
For the day of the recovery, take a hot shower. Yes, you stink. You stink from the night before. Do some light activities like yoga. Yoga is good. It will help move the body and get the blood flowing. And then just curl up under a blanket and try to take a nap. If for some reason you wake up the night after a party and you don't feel right though, do not drive. If you're still drunk, you think you might be, don't drive. Have someone pick you up if possible. Do not take any chances. Prep your recovery space before you leave for the party. Get the blankets, stage drinks by the couch.
I already told you about the recovery meal, so have all that ready to go. Do anything and everything in advance so when you do get home, you can just crash. To reiterate, you do not have to drink to have a good time at a party. There is a benefit slash reward slash suffering scale here. If your personal hangovers are terrible and you don't really like feeling that way, don't drink. Simple. You're an adult and you can make a choice to say no. You're an adult and you can tell people no when you're offered a drink.
If you're the kind of person, if you're the kind of drunk who consistently gets into trouble, either with other people or your spouse or you're prone to falling in random locations or fighting with people, don't drink. It ain't worth it. You will still have fun without it. You might even have more fun without the alcohol. For guys, whiskey dick is fucking real. After a few drinks, usually whiskey, but any other drink will do, your pecker could not function, which would be terrible.
Y'all meet a nice couple, head back to a hotel room for sexy time, and you can't perform due to self-inflicted reasons. And everyone knows at least one person who is the crying or anger drunk type. That is not a good look for anyone and can totally ruin the vibe for a night. Don't be that person. A note about illicit and or illegal substances. I have been talking about alcohol this whole episode. I get it, and let's be honest, people will do other substances recreationally at parties. I personally steer clear of anything other than alcohol. I know how alcohol impacts me.
I don't know how other fun and silly substances will impact me and my performance and my enjoyment of the event, so I just don't do it. It is a personal decision. Do not feel pretty pressured into doing anything in a party that you're not comfortable with. Most people will accept a simple no thank you and move on. If someone is pushy and trying to get y'all to join them in doing anything other than alcohol, leave the situation if you can. Same with people being pushy about sex. Anytime a person is pushy in the lifestyle, walk away.
I always appreciate hearing your feedback and comments on episodes or suggestions for topics, so feel free to reach out to me. Go take a look at my friend's website, www.gentlemans-almanac.com. He wrote a really good book for Gentlemen in the Lifestyle. My personal disclaimer, I am not a medical professional nor a trained and certified educator of any kind in any way. I am a guy with a microphone sharing my personal experiences with you. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and please join us for the next episode. Whatever you may do today, I hope you have a fantastic time doing it.
Know that you are appreciated and loved. Have a great day.
