Some of us drink alcohol…
- to relax or treat ourselves (so a reward of sorts for a hard day)
- to celebrate things or as a social interaction with friends
- to make ourselves more sociable than we would otherwise feel or to let go of our inhibitions
- to console ourselves / cheer ourselves up / try and escape our problems
- simply out of habit.
There’s no judgment here on anyone’s motivations or drinking habits. This post is intended to focus on the positives of taking a break from alcohol rather than the usual lists of negatives about drinking (which most of us know include depression and anxiety, sugar cravings, weight gain, poor sleep and concentration, health issues, etc.)
So besides the obvious benefits of better mental health, better hydration (and skin), better quality sleep, weight loss, getting more from your workouts and pennies saved, did you know that…?
- your blood sugar can normalise as quickly as 12-24 hours after drinking, as long as you haven’t started on the sugar rollercoaster with cravings or hangover “cures”. And a month without drinking can stabilise your glucose levels reducing your chances of type 2 diabetes.
- your liver fat will reduce by up to 20% after a month without alcohol, which enables your body to properly rid itself of toxins.
- a month without alcohol can also decrease your cholesterol by up to 5%, which reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease.
- alcohol is apparently linked to 7 different types of cancer, so abstaining for a period of time also has potential benefits in reducing your risk of developing them.
So as we head into the festive period, spare a thought for your relationship with alcohol and consider whether your body (& training) might benefit from a break.