A 'Water Sandwich' Claims To Ward Off Hangovers — And Doctors Have Thoughts

It's a simple tactic that claims to temper the effects of alcohol. Here's what experts think about it.

My best friend provides me with endless amounts of helpful support and wisdom, but one of her most enduring pieces of advice dates back to our college days, when we used to do some pretty irresponsible drinking. We’d mix spirits, we’d drink beer before liquor, we’d down sugary shots practically designed to give us pulverizing headaches … pretty much everything you’ve heard you shouldn’t do while consuming alcohol, we did.

To fight off the inevitable hangovers that would happen the next day, my friend came up with a plan that she enforced with ruthless efficiency. After any of us finished an alcoholic beverage, she’d hand us a full glass of water and insist that we drink the whole thing. “Sandwiching” a glass of water between any two boozy libations was a hard-and-fast rule, and if we forgot and tried to order two back-to-back cocktails, we’d hear her voice over our shoulders: “Water sandwich, water sandwich, water sandwich.”

I can still hear my bestie chanting “water sandwich, water sandwich” in the back of my mind every time I go out for drinks, and, as a regular consumer of water sandwiches, I definitely feel like they’ve helped me fight off some potentially devastating hangovers. But I find myself wondering whether the water sandwich works because I believe it works, or whether there’s some scientific basis for its hangover-fighting power.

To get the answers, I consulted a group of medical doctors, and they gave the full scoop on how water sandwiches can impact alcohol’s effect on the body.

A glass of water between each alcoholic drink can reduce dehydration.