For “gray area” drinkers, whose alcohol intake is not at a level appropriate for detoxification or treatment, creating an exercise routine can be a powerful way to break a habit.
Moving our bodies increases attention to how we feel physically and psychologically. It can improve our mental health as well as our sleep. When others participate in an exercise routine, a sense of community can also be fostered.
Exercise can also be an important tool in countering what Hurley calls our “incredibly aggressive drinking culture,” especially during a global pandemic, when more people have turned to alcohol as a way to cope with all the uncertainty.
“Exercise has a positive impact on mental health and reduces anxiety, many of the reasons people seek alcohol in the first place,” Hurley said.
drinking as a habit
When people drink to unwind at the end of the day, the habit can quickly become detrimental to their health.
A gray area drinker, Hurley explained, might regularly have a glass of wine while dinner is being prepared. Then drink another glass with your meal. And then maybe have one more epilogue.
“That person is not an alcoholic per se, but having three glasses of wine a night is well above the CDC recommendation of seven drinks or fewer a week for women,” she said. “You may be what appears to be a casual drinker on the outside, but you’re crossing that threshold.”
Even a temporary break from alcohol can help give the drinker a chance to see how their body feels without alcohol, he noted. They can also reflect more objectively on their behavior patterns and the reasons why they normally turn to alcohol.
Hurley helps customers replace unhealthy old habits with healthy new ones in its 30-, 60- or 90-day “take a break” programs. She acts as a recovery coach and personal trainer, combining a weekly 15-minute log with a workout in her home studio.
Hurley suggests creating a weekly fitness plan and scheduling exercises during times when the urge to consume alcohol is strongest.
“If someone is drinking out of habit or boredom, then they might think, ‘I’m not sure what to do between 5:30 and 7:00 at night, when I normally have a glass of wine or a beer.'” You could go to a CrossFit class or a yoga class or go for a run or walk to change your habits.”
It doesn’t have to be hard training, he said. Even a walk is effective.
Benefits of exercise
If physical activity were a drug, “it would be the most useful drug ever invented,” said Dr. Edward Laskowski, a specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, who has served on two boards of presidents about physical health. physical aptitude.
Laskowski often reminds patients to focus on health fundamentals, like exercise, that have been studied for decades. Regular physical activity has been shown to prevent or mitigate many health problems, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. It also increases energy and improves mood and sleep.
“Sometimes we ignore those fundamental things in search of a magic bullet,” he said. “Physical activity has a proven benefit.”
Laskowski pointed out how alcohol consumption can cause long-term damage throughout the body, damaging the liver, brain and cardiovascular system, as well as increasing obesity to begin with.
When used to support sobriety, physical activity can replace the good feelings drinkers seek by increasing the release of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, Laskowski said. More specifically, dopamine and serotonin help maintain mood and increase our motivation and energy. The endorphins behind the so-called “runner’s high” create feelings of pleasure and reduce pain.
One study Laskowski cited found that when regular athletes were asked to remain sedentary for a week, they experienced poorer mental health. Subjects’ moods improved when they returned to their exercise routines.
Hurley noted the irony of how many gray-area drinkers seek alcohol to improve their mood and help them fall asleep, but how, in fact, alcohol can exacerbate depression and reduce restful sleep.
“In the moment, alcohol reduces anxiety, but in the morning it makes things worse,” Hurley said. “People are using it to treat anxiety and stress, and it’s causing more anxiety and stress. Alcohol may make you fall asleep a little faster, but then it disrupts your sleep later in the sleep cycle, so you You wake up at three o’clock in the morning and you can’t go back to sleep.
Exercise can also build confidence and self-esteem as you set goals and meet them, Hurley said. And creating an exercise practice can not only strengthen a new habit around reducing alcohol consumption, but also help people look at their health and wellness more holistically.
“It used to be that the only reason you didn’t drink at all was because you couldn’t, you had a problem with alcohol,” he said. Today, people avoid alcohol for the same reasons they limit things like meat, sugar, or gluten: “They’re paying more attention to their health.”
