Lifestyle
Lose your bottle
What
Cheers, bottoms up, prost, skál, or sláinte.
Around the world, people have been enjoying a social tipple or two for millennia. From mulled wine or whisky to a pint of lager or a vodka and coke. Booze has a reputation for making people feel great, for little bit. And then.
The next day, it can make you feel groggy, achy and grumpy. Hangovers aside, drinking alcohol can lead to fatigue, bad skin, depression, poor sleep, liver damage, high blood pressure, mouth cancer… ok, ok, I’ll stop. You get it: it isn’t super healthy.
So for two months, try cutting down on your booze. Simple.
Why
As we said, drinking too much alcohol can lead to a whole swathe of health problems – both short and long term. We'll spare you the details, but the NHS gives a pretty thorough run down here.
How
Here at DoNation, we love small, lasting changes. Instead of going cold turkey for a month (or until you can't take it anymore), why not just cut back for a while - perhaps drinking just one or two nights a week. After two months, you might well find you’ve formed a habit that sticks.
Here are some top tips on how to keep dry:
- Stay away from the triggers - Whether it’s the pub or a work do, unless you have super strong willpower, it’s probably best to avoid temptation for a while.
- Do something new to fill the time - Reducing drinking time (and the inevitable hangover slump) will create lots of free time in your schedule. So make sure to fill it with good stuff, like learning a new skill, joining a book club, or taking up a sport. You could even rope in your drinking buddies or meet some new interesting friends.
- Find an alternative non-alcoholic tipple - Non-alcoholic drinks are common place now, with LOTS of exciting options to choose from. You could also alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks if you just want to cut down a bit.
And when you are drinking, buy local and cut down on packaging. Try Toast Ale, which brews their beverages using fresh bread that would otherwise go to waste. Check out EeBria for British-brewed beers, ciders, wines and gins. Or sniff out places that offer refillable wine bottles, like Borough Wines for London dwellers. Cheers!
References
