Happy Alcohol Awareness Week!
This week, people across the world take time to consider their drinking habits, finding new ways to reduce their drinking or support fantastic organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
The theme for this year's Alcohol Awareness Week is Change, thinking about how we all have the ability to change our lifestyle and understand how our drinking habits affect us.
In this post, I want to discuss the benefits of reducing your drinking this Alcohol Awareness Week.
There are so many advantages to cutting down your alcohol intake, whether you want to look out for your mental health or you're trying to avoid those dreaded, wasted hangover days.
1. It can improve your mental health
For many people, alcohol can have a negative impact on mental health.
Although alcohol makes you feel relaxed and confident in the moment, the chemical changes in your brain can lead to feelings of anxiety, anger and depression- and alcohol soon takes its toll on your mental health.
I think we've all experienced a low morning after a night of drinking. Reducing your drinking can improve your mood and it can also help with any overthinking or intrusive thoughts about the night before.
2. Motivation to stay fit!
If you're trying to stick to an exercise routine, or you need motivation to stay fit, reducing your drinking is a great way to stick to your goals!
For example, if you're trying to lose a bit of weight, reducing your alcohol can help you reach your target sooner, as alcoholic drinks are full of "empty calories".
This means that you don't get full or receive any nutrients while you drink, but you are still taking in unhealthy calories that can harm your body.
You'll also have more energy and motivation to stick to your workout routine. I never want to go for a run after a couple of drinks the night before, and I know that my performance is always better when I avoid drinking.
Reduce down your drinking to stay fit and keep up your motivation!
3. No more hangovers!
I think we've all had that wasted day, when you've not been able to do anything because you feel sick, or sluggish, or your head is banging- or you're just plain tired!
Although it can be fun to enjoy yourself with a few drinks, hangover days can be a nightmare, especially if you've got tasks to complete the day after a night out.
Reducing your drinking, even just by a little bit, means that you can enjoy your night without feeling terrible the day after, and you can go out in the confidence that the next day won't be wasted.
4. Better hydration
Alcohol really dehydrates your body, and that's why you wake up feeling super thirsty after a night of drinking.
Reducing your alcohol intake this Alcohol Awareness Week allows your body to have the appropriate level of hydration throughout the day, and this has so many amazing benefits for your body!
Drinking dehydrates your skin, too, meaning that your skin and eyes can start to look dull after you've had a drink.
By reducing your drinking, you can help your skin stay fully-hydrated- and maybe even improve it over time too!
5. More energy throughout the day
I think we all know how much drinking can sap our energy. We might find it harder to wake up in the morning, and I know I always feel a bit groggy after a couple of drinks the night before.
This is because alcohol can disrupt your sleep cycle, and so, while you might get to sleep faster after a couple of drinks, you may still feel tired the next day.
Reducing your alcohol this Alcohol Awareness Week is a great way to improve your energy levels throughout the day. This is especially important if you're off to work or you have something fun planned.
6. Long-term health benefits
As well as the short-term benefits highlighted in this post, there are also lots of long-term health benefits if you want to keep reducing your alcohol intake after Alcohol Awareness Week.
You will improve the health of your liver and your cardiovascular system. Alcohol can also increase your blood pressure, so reducing your drinking can improve your blood pressure long-term.
Whether you want to reduce your alcohol as a short-term experiment or you plan on cutting out drinking altogether, there are lots of benefits!
Do you mark Alcohol Awareness Week? Are there any benefits I've missed in this post? Let me know in the comments!
Love, Sarah xoxoxo
