Is It Safe to Work Out Hungover?

Uh...

Woman in red vest running on treadmill
(Image credit: Getty Images)

We don't even know why you would subject yourself to such torture, but to each her own. In fact, Diane Kruger recently posted a beat-looking selfie in the gym after a night celebrating St. Paddy's Day. She said: "This is what my hungover workout session looked and felt like this morning."

Which made us wonder: If you wake up after a night of raging to realize you need to hit the gym or fit in that run—could it actually be bad for you?

Bummer news, lazy gals: "It's actually a great idea to start moving and begin to cleanse your body of toxins," said Dr. Jordan D. Metzl, a sports medicine physician at Hospital for Special Surgery. "The keys are good hydration and not doing anything that requires special balance until you are stable on one leg."

Dr. Metzl points out that dehydration is always a risk factor, so make sure you're hydrating—since you're probably already wiped from the night before.

Tip: Since you'll basically be sweating out that liquor (damn you, whiskey), you might want to do your gym partners a favor and opt for an outside workout session if you can. Just sayin'.

You should also check out:

The Truth About Thigh Gaps

Is Waist-Training Actually Healthy?

10 Ways to Drag Yourself Out of Bed in the Morning

Samantha Leal
Senior Editor

Samantha Leal is the Deputy Editor at Well+Good, where she spends most of her day thinking of new ideas across platforms, bringing on new writers, overseeing the day-to-day of the website, and working with the awesome team to produce the best stories and packages. Before W+G, she was the Senior Web Editor for Marie Claire and the Deputy Editor for Latina.com, with bylines all over the internet. Graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a minor in African history, she’s written everything from travel guides to political op-eds to wine explainers (currently enrolled in the WSET program) to celebrity profiles. Find her online pretty much everywhere @samanthajoleal.