If youve noticed youre reaching for an extra glass of wine or beer (or spirit) to unwind lately, you're not alone.
A study published earlier this year in JAMA Network Open compared how U.S. adults reported using alcohol before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and at two time points during it. The results? Adults indeed reported drinking more alcohol and doing so more frequently since the start of the worldwide health crisis.
Understandably, people have been faced with the task of managing a lot of uncertainty and factors that are out of our control, and that can be provoking, says Aimee Chiligiris, PsyD, an assistant professor of medical psychology (in psychiatry) at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City who specializes in substance abuse.
Alcohol, for some people, can temporarily relieve anxiety. It can also be a distraction something to fill time, says Dr. Chiligiris. But while reaching for a drink whenever you feel anxious can provide temporary relief, it can also trigger a cycle of increased use that feeds on itself.
Whats more, its probably not helping you address the stressors youre facing.
Even if youre a casual drinker, Chiligiris says alcohol can have a boomerang effect on anxiety. For starters, alcohol can interfere with your sleep cycle, making it tougher to get a full night of quality rest. And we know poor sleep contributes to anxiety, so reaching for alcohol to calm your nerves becomes a vicious circle, she explains.
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If alcohol is your only means to relax, that's concerning, says Timothy Fong, MD, a professor of psychiatry and the director of the addiction psychiatry fellowship at the University of California in Los Angeles. Dr. Fong says hes concerned about the 10 to 19 percent of the population who find themselves drinking more heavily than usual because of pressures from the pandemic, according to the aforementioned JAMA study.
The real question is not how this increase in alcohol use is impacting us (heavier drinkers) now, but its effects in the next two to three to five years, he says, referring to how excessive drinking (defined as 8 to 15 drinks per week, depending on your gender) can increase your risk of heart disease, cancer, digestive issues, depression, and anxiety, according to the CDC.
Coronavirus anxiety aside, a growing pile of research tells us that regular alcohol consumption just isn't good for you. Increasingly, experts say probably no amount of alcohol is really okay for your health.
Though red wine has been touted as heart-protective thanks to antioxidants such as resveratrol, even low amounts of alcohol have been associated with atrial fibrillation, or a rapid, irregular heartbeat, according to a study published in 2016 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
And theres even more research to show that excessive alcohol consumption can be detrimental to immune function (per a 2015 Alcohol Research study), and increases the risk of cancer, cognitive problems, and stroke.
The bottom line: Reasons abound to find alternative ways to kick back and relax rather than reaching for the bottle.
If youve been drinking more than youd like, try replacing happy hour or whatever drinking ritual you have with a nondrinking activity that will activate the reward centers in your brain and curb your craving. Trying new things and experiencing pleasure without alcohol use can definitely provide the same sort of pleasure reinforcement that you may be looking for with alcohol, Chiligiris says.
You dont have to abandon your cocktails entirely or the rituals you share with friends and family, Fong says. But add other routines to your repertoire that bring you a sense of calm and joy. Add to your toolbox, he says.
Here are a few alternatives to try.
Taking time to connect with friends cheers you up it releases feel-good hormones like serotonin and oxytocin. Oxytocin calms the stress response, and there's evidence it curbs the urge to stress drink, according to a review published in 2014 in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Spending time with friends may even help you live longer, research shows. Even if you cant hang out like you used to, a long walk outside with a buddy or a video chat can have the same mood-boosting effect.
Fong says working out a bike ride, a walk, or cueing up a virtual HIIT class can alleviate the stress that drives us to drink. Plus, it will give you a shot of endorphins a chemical the body makes that triggers positive feelings.
If you dont want to bail on your weekly Zoom happy hour, there are plenty of non-alcoholic drinks that are just as tasty without the booze.
Instead of concocting your favorite cocktail, mix up a virgin version, or brew some soothing chamomile tea, which has its own calming properties, according to a study published this year in the International JournalofBiological Macromolecules.
Fong says meditation can help you relax as much as a vodka martini can. Alcohol chills us out by drowning out the noise and stress. Meditation, on the other hand, helps actually quiet the brain by relieving stress (rather than just covering it up), Fong explains.
Try using a meditation app to get you in the habit. Just remember to put your phone down for a while afterward doomscrolling or watching the news will just fire up your brain again.
Theres something very, very joyful about putting on your favorite music and dancing around the room by yourself, says Fong. Music releases dopamine, the same feel-good chemical that gets released in the brain when we drink alcohol, a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2019 showed.
Fong says tending to household projects youve long neglected can help distract you from the urge to drink as hard as they are to convince yourself to do. No one wants to clean out the closet, but when you actually do it, it brings an immense amount of joy, he says.
Dont be hard on yourself if your new happy hour habits take a few tries to catch on. Chiligiris says that once her patients make a change, they recognize that their overall quality of life has improved. They sleep better, are less anxious, and have more energy a virtuous cycle.
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6 Alcohol-Free Ways to Unwind at the End of a Long Day - Everyday Health
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