If you are planning to cut down alcohol from your daily lifestyle, it’s not gonna happen overnight. You should rather try to quit alcohol gradually in order to minimize the risk of severe withdrawal symptoms.
If you are a daily or a frequent binge drinker, then there are high risks of quitting alcohol at once without any medical assistance. Sadly, there is hardly any research that could demonstrate that tapering off actually minimizes the severity of the aftermath of alcohol withdrawal. Well, the reason why no such definite report has yet been discovered is that the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal widely vary from one person to another. So, there is no solid ground to compare the effects and outcomes of quitting alcohol among daily and chain drinkers.
Stepwise Approach to Cut Down Alcohol Completely
- The easiest step to cut down alcohol consumption from one’s daily lifestyle is to gradually minimize the peg counts that you take at a go. Suppose you take five glasses of alcohol on a daily basis, try cutting it short to 3 glasses for a couple of days. Then try reducing it further to 2 and so on.
- Some people gradually quit alcohol by increasing the time interval between two consecutive pegs. For example, the person could take one hour to consume one glass of wine before moving to prepare another drink. Or, the person could simply replace that glass of alcohol with something sweeter, like natural fruit juice, sports drink, electrolyte, or simply plain water between two alcoholic shots. Mixing a minimal amount of drink to other beverages like cola, sprite, or others is also a smarter way of tapering off drinking.
- Make sure to limit the consistency of consuming drinks on a daily basis. Try to maintain a daily schedule to avoid fluctuations in your drinking habit. Start with weekly observation, then move to monthly trials of reducing alcohol consumption. Set a start and a stop date to keep a check on tapering off, as it’s not an open-end procedure.
Alternatives to Drinking Alcohol
Begin With Regular Exercise
If you are truly determined to give up on alcohol and start a healthier lifestyle, begin with an exercise routine, every morning. You can take your yoga classes or hit a gym for a regular workout to hardcore body fitness sessions. Kickboxing or aerial yoga is also a proper fit to try out with your family members, friends, or coworker. These will greatly help reduce stress and begin refueling and replenishing your body potential quicker. Even an exercise session of not more than 20 minutes to half an hour is enough to benefit your body. Research shows that doing regular exercise provides benefits that stay for about a couple of hours, even after the workout.
Respondents to the American Psychological Association’s 2013 Stress in America survey said they experienced improved mood, higher self-esteem, and overall stress relief from exercising.
Attend Music Classes
Even the idea of learning to play new musical instruments is so relaxing in itself. Music releases much of our stress and negative effects and brings positive energy to the body and mind that reactivates our capability to do more productive tasks, throughout the day. Music has amazing benefits concerning the development of one immune system. Continuous alcohol consumption affects the body’s resistance to diseases and the excretory system (as the amount of water in the urine gets unbalanced). That’s why music had been considered a significant factor in reducing anxiety, depression, stress, etc.
Researches show that playing musical instruments enhances mental health, reasoning, and logical ability, and ameliorates amicable connections with other people.
Get a Massage
Hardly anybody is unaware of the fact that a solid one-hour full body massage helps relax your body and mind, thereby draining all the stress and tiredness from the body. Try setting a schedule for a therapeutic massage, at least once a week. Even a 30 minutes massage is sufficient to decrease the secretion of the stress hormone, reduce heart rate, and prevent risks of high blood pressure.
Meditation
Like body massage, meditation is yet another but the most powerful of all the activities mentioned above. Though it takes time, sometimes days or weeks, to settle one’s mind for a sound meditation, in this process of preparing yourself you will start noticing changes (the good ones). The only challenge is the process of meditation as it is not as simple as it appears. You need to calm and empty your mind, but thoughts often barge into your mind even if you try not to think of any. So, it is a time taking process, otherwise, it is an effective activity to reduce anxiety, increase mental and physical potential, minimize chances of catching diseases frequently, improve focus, and act as an antidepressant to subside the signs of depression.
Benefits of Quitting Alcohol
You Will Have A Sound Sleep
The beginning stage of alcohol consumption might bring about a drowsy feeling. But once you start falling asleep after drinking, you will eventually end up waking up at night. This will disturb your sleep-wake cycle, plus, it may cause breathing issues. Moreover, the amount of water in your urine will increase significantly and you will feel like going to the washroom every now and then, in the middle of the sleep. So, try not to take alcohol, especially during the afternoon or in the late evening, if you want to enjoy a good night’s sleep.
Minimize High Blood Pressure
Heavy consumption of alcohol may increase your blood pressure. Consult a doctor to find a quick yet gradual tapering off remedy to completely quit alcohol.
Note: Normal blood pressure is 120/80. If the upper limit is much more or the low limit is much less than the given limit, then it determines the high and low blood pressure, respectively.
Your Liver May Heal
One of the many functions of the liver is to excrete toxins. Here alcohol is the most toxic solution to the body cells. Binge drinking of about 8 to 15 drinks for women and men, respectively– could badly cost their liver, leading to fatty liver, liver cirrhosis, and other health issues. The good news is that the liver is made of hepatic cells, which are the highest regenerative cells of the human body. So, if you start tapering alcohol intake to completely stop drinking, chances are still there to restore the damaged liver before it’s too late.
