Alcohol is something that many people enjoy, but it can become a problem when it gets to a stage where someone needs it to function on a daily basis. Too much alcohol can have some seriously negative issues associated with your health, plus it is extremely expensive, particularly when the habit becomes extreme. Here are some excellent reasons to cut down on your alcohol intake in order to enjoy a drink responsibly and keep yourself feeling good.
Improve Your Health
Alcohol can affect your health in a number of different ways. Your weight is one such issue. Some alcoholic drinks contain a huge amount of calories, perhaps as much as some fried foods in some cases, and this can mean that heavy drinkers put on too much weight and even become obese. Conversely, those who have a truly devastating drinking habit may not eat enough at all, and they can become dangerously underweight. Either way, not maintaining a healthy weight is bad for you.
Alcohol can also affect your liver, causing it to stop working efficiently. The liver can be damaged by alcohol as the alcohol causes it to be inflamed. Chronic inflammation leads to cirrhosis of the liver and eventually liver failure. When the liver fails, it is unable to continue to fight infections and cleanse the blood. Too much alcohol can also affect the heart and brain and has been linked to some cancers. It can all have a detrimental effect on mental health.
Improve Your Bank Account
You may not realize just how much you truly spend on alcohol, but when you add it all up, you might be surprised at the amount! It can be shocking to see what percentage of your income is spent on alcoholic drinks, and this can be a great motivator to stop, or at least cut down. A good way to prove to yourself that you’re doing the right thing is to put anything you would have spent on alcohol into a separate bank account. After a month, take a look and see what’s in there. It might be enough to buy something you really want, and after a little more time, you could even have enough to go on vacation.
Improve Your Sleep
Those who drink too much often find that they have trouble sleeping, or that, although they can get to sleep fairly easily, they don’t sleep all night, or they don’t feel properly rested in the morning. Cutting down on the amount of alcohol you drink can help to solve this sleeping problem. It’s essential that you get enough good quality sleep because this is when your body repairs itself. Getting enough sleep means that you can wake up feeling refreshed and healthier than ever; not getting enough means that your body has not had enough time to regenerate, so you don’t feel quite right in the morning.
The right amount of sleep also means that your mood will be improved and you will be much more energetic and productive. It will make a big difference to your everyday life if you cut down on the amount of alcohol you drink and improve your sleeping patterns.
Improve Your Sex Life
Alcohol can have a detrimental effect on your sex life, especially if you are a man as too much alcohol can lead to erectile dysfunction. Although there are medicines that can be taken for this, you can view here for details, and although alcohol is not the only cause (in which case, medication can certainly be the best option), if you cut down on alcohol you may see a difference in your ability to gain an erection.
Alcohol can also lead to people making unwise decisions when it comes to sex, and sleeping with inappropriate people, or not taking precautions. It can lead to unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. It can also leave people vulnerable to sexual attacks.
Improving Your Baby’s Health
Drinking when pregnant has now become something that is seen as a terrible choice, especially since studies have shown that the alcohol can definitely affect your baby’s health and well-being. Being pregnant is an excellent reason to give up alcohol completely.
There are even studies showing that the baby’s father should cut down on his alcohol intake too. This is because it is easier for the mother to cut down if her partner has as well.
Improve How Other Drugs Work
If you are on any kind of medication, it is important to read the advice material that comes with it. In some cases, it will explicitly state that the drugs you are taking should not be mixed with alcohol. The effects can be dangerous to your health, and at the very least the alcohol can prevent the drugs from working as they should, meaning it takes you longer to heal.
If the medication is to be taken long term for a chronic illness, you could be endangering your life by drinking, so it’s essential that you check out what the recommendations are. If you’re not sure, take a look online or ask your doctor for advice and always follow it, even if it’s not what you want to hear.
Improve Your Productivity
If you want to do better in life, you need to be more productive both at work and at home. That way, you can truly feel as though you have done your best, and if you have children, they can look up to you and follow your example, helping to keep them healthier and more successful in the future.
If you drink a lot of alcohol, your productivity will be seriously affected. Being under the influence of alcohol slows reaction times both mentally and physically and means that we can’t get as much work done as we might need to. It also affects us the next day. Suffering from a hangover is not good for productivity and can cause us to lose days at work, sometimes losing money in the process.
