NOT that we condone heavy drinking on New Year's Eve, but we suspect there may be a few sore heads today

With the revelry probably dragging into the wee hours of the morning, attention is not all that likely to be focused on the dreaded morning after, when innocuous sounds become booming symphonies and gentle beams of sunlight become blinding shards of pain.

Queensland Health's senior director of preventive health Kaye Pulsford said recently that excessive drinking put the body to the test like little else.

"Alcohol is also a diuretic, with the kidneys sending fluid straight to the bladder, explaining the constant need to urinate but also why people experience hangovers," she said.

"The liver needs water to remove toxins from the body…the liver then draws on the water supply from other organs, including the brain, which explains the bad headache the next day."

All of which means staying hydrated with water is one of the better ways to go about avoiding the worst effects of a hangover.

Here's some popular tips that may help dull the pain in the meantime:

• Exercise (if you're game).
• Sleep it off.
• Eat greasy food, such as a fry-up breakfast.
• Drink electrolyte-based drinks, such as Gatorade or Powerade.
• Take a dose of painkillers
• Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

But realistically, and rather depressingly, time is the only proven remedy for a hangover.