You know the feeling. The afternoon urge that pulls you to relax and unwind with your favorite cocktail. It’s an impulse that so often becomes a daily habit. One cocktail inevitably turns into several cocktails. It’s a cycle that repeats each day.
I’m not going to lie. I enjoy the occasional cocktail. My previous life as a CIA officer was filled with more than my share of booze. It was almost as if drinking was a requirement, and in some cultures it is practically seen as rude to decline a drink. Ouzo, scotch, wine, beer, vodka, you name it – I probably like it. But sometimes this can become a habit, and I recognize that I feel much better overall when I don’t imbibe.
We all know how drinking alcohol can hurt your health. Heavy, long-term drinking can damage the liver, the organ chiefly responsible for breaking down alcohol into harmless byproducts and clearing it from the body. But did you know that alcohol consumption can also cause serious damage to your brain?
Alcohol–damaged liver cells allow excess amounts of the toxic substances ammonia and manganese to enter the brain causing harm to brain cells. Long-term heavy drinking may lead to shrinking of the brain and deficiencies in the fibers (white matter) that carry information between brain cells (gray matter). And it’s not just heavy drinking that can harm your health. The effects of alcohol consumption are cumulative. Long term use, even having one drink a day, can drain your energy over time. Alcohol consumption causes changes in sleep patterns, disrupting the most restorative phase of sleep that occurs later in the night. It can affect your mood, personality and contribute to psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression. There can also be severe cognitive effects such as shortened attention span and problems with coordination.
Sometimes the old advice to exercise when you feel the pull of alcohol is just not feasible. After a long, draining day at work or while attending a social event it just might not be possible to take a jog much less throw yourself down and do some pushups.
So what do you do instead of sipping that cocktail or taking that shot? I’ve come up with some suggestions.
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Replace the alcoholic beverage with a different type of beverage. Try coffee, tea, a mocktail, a smoothie, hot chocolate, club soda with lime or lemon or just plain water. My personal favorite is a cup of miso soup. You can buy individual serving packets of miso – all you have to do is add hot water. The only limit to this list is your imagination. Get creative.
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Read something. Make it a habit to read an uplifting or inspiring article, short story or book each day. Try reading something written by or about someone you admire – it can make you feel positive and rejuvenated.
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Read the above harmful aspects of alcohol consumption on your health. There’s nothing like the image of your brain shrinking to encourage you not to drink.
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Check out some of the beneficial side effects of cutting back or abstaining from alcohol. Getting better sleep, having younger-looking skin, losing weight and being able to quickly fight off the common cold are all good things that will come to you when you choose not to drink.
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Look at a picture of someone whose physical appearance you admire. Most likely, this person does not drink heavily.
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If possible, do some exercise. Get your body moving and you will begin to feel the benefits immediately. Try doing some stretches or take some deep breaths.
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Listen to a podcast that inspires you. There are many to choose from – find one that makes you feel good and listen for a few minutes.
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Turn on some music.
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Take a free online class. Skim through one or dive into one more in-depth. Find a subject you are interested in and learn more about it.
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Take a shower. This might sound strange but it really will help you to relax and refresh after a long day.
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Write something. It doesn’t have to be a novel, just a few lines about how you feel or even a to-do list for the coming weeks. Who knows? You may even write the next best-seller.