Plan your transport

• Before any night out, it’s always worth planning how you are getting there and how you are getting home.
• Some of you are lucky enough to be in walking distance of Canterbury’s night time hotspots…but if you do decide to walk, never do it alone. Walking in a group will not only be safer but having a chat with friends is far more enjoyable!
• Now for those who face a longer walk to where you are heading, why not get a taxi to be on the safe side. When its 3am, pouring down with rain and freezing cold, it can often prove tricky getting a taxi because everyone else is after one!
• Plan your night before you leave your house and book your taxi home. Likewise when you are thinking about how you will get there…give yourself plenty of time when booking a taxi to avoid disappointment.

Here are the contact details for our partner taxi firm: Longley’s Taxis- 01227 710 777

Plan your food

• Before a night out, there are so many things running through your mind…what to wear, how to style your hair, what shoes go with that dress, what friends will you be meeting there! But something a lot of us often forget to think about is what to eat before you leave the house.

• Drinking on an empty stomach is a bad idea. Alcohol defuses through the walls of the stomach very quickly. The less food in your body, the faster alcohol will enter your blood stream. The faster it is absorbed into your body, the bigger impact it has upon your liver, digestive system, kidneys, and cardiovascular system. Eat before your drink and the alcohol will drip into your body's systems, rather than flooding them.

• Now the question is what to eat? Some people think that you have to spend ages over the cooker preparing a meal but there are plenty of tasty dinner that can be prepared and cooked in just 20 minutes!

Here are a selection of mouth-watering meals in minutes:

• Beef, mushroom & greens stir-fry
• Vegetarian Egg-fried rice
• Chicken Caesar salad
• Chicken Fajitas
• Salmon, avocado & cucumber salad

Look after your friends

On a night out it is important that you stay safe and stay with your friends. This isn’t just for your safety but also your friends. We’ve all been in a situation when you are in a nightclub and one minute you are dancing with your group, and the next minute they are nowhere to be seen!

That’s why it is important to have a plan with your friends beforehand about where you are going and what to do if you get split up. Use our checklist to plan sensibly:

• Always try to stay with someone so nobody gets left alone.
• If somebody does get left alone, plan a place beforehand to meet up.
• Never leave the nightclub alone and wait for your friends.
• Make sure your mobile phone is charged before the big night out.
• Never leave your drink unattended.
• If your drink tastes strange, do not drink any more of it.
• If walking home, stick to well-lit streets and busy areas.
• It’s also worth noting down the numbers for emergency services. Now most people know that in an emergency, you call 999 but for those occasions when you or your friend need assistance but it isn’t an emergency, call 111.
• 111 is the NHS non-emergency number. It’s fast, easy and free. Call 111 and speak to an adviser, supported by healthcare professionals. They will ask you a series of questions to assess your symptoms and immediately direct you to the best medical care for you. NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Think about the morning after…

Thinking about what you will be doing the morning after a night out does not make you boring, it makes you sensible. It’s important to remember why you are at University…and that is to learn.

Give yourself a drink limit before a night out…especially if you have early lectures! You spend enough money to study so do not waste it being hungover and missing vital lectures and seminars.