A mix of alcohol and sun can impact our health in different ways, so it’s important to be mindful of any increased risks to our wellbeing if we are drinking alcohol, even in smaller amounts.
Over recent years, climate and weather changes have influenced our seasonal weather patterns. So far this year, the UK has experienced some extremely high temperatures.
Read below for some useful tips from our CEO, Dr Richard Piper, to consider in hotter temperatures where alcohol is involved.
“This time of year offers a stark reminder that many parts of our cultures still treat alcohol as essential, rather than optional, especially when the sun makes an appearance. Just look at the slick advertising from alcohol companies, the sponsorship of summer sporting events and festivals and the multi-buy discounts and displays in shops all pushing the idea that booze is essential to having fun in the sunshine - which is simply not true.
“These things make it harder for us to decide if, when and how much alcohol we drink, while making it all too easy to end up drinking more than we plan to. And mixing alcohol with hot weather creates even more risks for our health and wellbeing.”
“Dehydration is the number one offender when it comes to drinking alcohol in the sunshine, bringing with it some not-so-fun symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, sickness and fatigue and in some cases needs medical attention.
“That’s because alcohol is a diuretic, meaning more trips to the loo and loss of water and nutrients from our body, while the hot weather means we sweat more and expel these in this way too. This dehydration double whammy makes it even more important to drink plenty of water and stay as hydrated as possible throughout the day.”
Tip: “On a very hot day, the safest approach is to avoid alcohol. If you feel you must have some alcohol on a hot day, alternate alcoholic drinks and water. This method, known as zebra striping, slows down our alcohol consumption and keeps us topped up with the fluids we need to prevent the dehydration double whammy of alcohol and hot weather. If it’s really hot, consider two glasses of water for one glass of alcohol. If we’re sweating a lot too, we may also benefit from having some salty food or hydration sachets to help us replenish what we’re losing.
“Of course, we can also swap out alcohol entirely for any of the incredible alcohol-free or low-alcohol versions of our favourite drinks or just stick to soft drinks! You can check out the wide array of no- and low-alcohol drinks reviews on the Alcohol Change UK website for inspiration.”
“Many of us will find we have difficulty sleeping during the hot weather, not least because the UK is naturally less equipped than other countries with air-con and ways to regulate the temperatures within our homes.
“This mean our bedrooms can be hotter, muggier and more uncomfortable than usual, leading to a lot of tossing and turning, which can be compounded by alcohol’s diuretic effects and overall impact on our sleep quality.
“While the sleep-inducing effect of booze can help us drop off, alcohol suppresses the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) part of our sleep cycle, which makes for a less restful slumber. Put all of this together and we can wake up feeling more tired than when we went to bed; and with a sore head to boot.”
Tip: “Stopping drinking earlier in the day and only having water after, say 9pm, can help avoid alcohol playing too much havoc with our sleep in the hot weather. We can also keep track of how much alcohol we’re consuming throughout the day using an app like the Try Dry® app. By logging our drinks, we can see how many units we’ve consumed and decide to call time on our boozing and rehydrate earlier before we go to bed, hopefully enabling a more restful night's sleep.”
“Dehydration, poor sleep and overdoing it on the booze in the sunshine can lead to hangovers from hell, with hangxiety dialled up to maximum and the physical aftereffects of the heat and alcohol often taking days for our bodies to recover from fully.
“So many people who share their stories with us of cutting back or stopping drinking, say that freedom from hangovers is one of the biggest benefits they experience, while realising just how much time they wasted during the weather nursing a hangover instead of enjoying themselves!”
Tip: “Staying within the low-risk drinking guidelines of no more than 14 units per week, even especially in the sunshine, is the best way to prevent hangovers. This is around six pints or a bottle and a half of wine per week, spread across the week with several entirely alcohol-free days in between.”
“It’s no secret that alcohol lowers our inhibitions, impairs our judgement and intensifies our emotions. This can lead to accidents, injuries, arguments, forgetfulness, risk taking, spending more money than we’d like or feeling anxious and depressed, both during and after a drinking session. So, while fun in the sun might be our aim, drinking alcohol can in fact lead to the opposite.”
Tip: “It can be helpful to consider, both before and during social events in the summer, am I drinking alcohol because I want to? Does drinking alcohol bring out the best version of me? If fun is my goal, does it really matter what’s in my glass and can I not have just as much, if not more fun, by cutting back or not drinking alcohol?
“Summer can be a great time to experiment with these questions and make time and space for the things we really enjoy. To help, you can set yourself cool ‘missions’ in the Try Dry® app, to take on hobbies, nights out, weddings, gigs, dates or events, just without the alcohol.
“Many who take on these missions revel in the sense of achievement and enjoyment they experience from being fully present, clear-headed and feeling good. While booze and hot weather might trigger associations for us, we don't have to act on those associations like Pavlov's dogs! Enjoy a cold AF beer and keep drinking plenty of water, and you'll feel a whole lot better.”
“Summer brings with it longer days and lighter evenings, meaning we have more hours to play with. This can mean many of us find our drinking hitting ‘binge drinking’ territory more often or getting coaxed into having ‘just one more’ drink.
“While binge drinking often evokes imagery of inordinate amounts of alcohol in our minds, many are surprised to find out what a binge actually looks like. In numbers, its exceeding eight units of alcohol for men and six units for women on a single occasion. Eight units is around four pints of average strength beer, and six units is roughly four standard size glasses of 12% prosecco.
“While alcohol creates harm across all levels of consumption, its more immediate dangers are intensified in a ‘binge’. These include forgetting what’s happening, spending more money than we’d like, having accidents, trips and falls, making poor decisions, not getting home safely, or upsetting friends and family. We can also experience a physical and emotional (anxiety, regret) hangover the next day, losing precious time and not being fully present for our loved ones.
“Frequent ‘binge drinking’, which is not uncommon during the summer months, means we’re likely to be exceeding the Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines of no more than 14 units a week, which can mean significantly increasing our heart rate, blood pressure and damage to the cells throughout our body, as well as the chances of developing long-term health conditions like strokes, heart disease, cancer, anxiety or depression. The more often we drink heavily, the greater our risk of these long-term conditions rises even faster, while we are also likely to start developing habitual associations with alcohol, finding it harder to cut down or give up.”
Tip: “It’s important to get to grips with units and start tracking how much alcohol you are drinking in a typical sitting. Knowledge is power, and most people are unaware of the number of units they consume, what this looks like in terms of drinks or how long alcohol remains in the body. Try a unit calculator and start tracking your consumption with the Try Dry® app.”
