If you're planning to cut down on your alcohol consumption this New Year, or you're jumping into the deep end and giving Dry January a go, Dr Amir Khan has revealed his 4 top tips that will help your become more aware of you drinking habits.
Last year, 8.8 million people across the globe took part in Dry January, with them all giving up alcohol for the entire month to, one, see if they could, and two, to feel the health benefits that come with going sober - yes, you can even feel the benefits when you stop drinking alcohol for only a month!
What are those benefits? According to Alcohol Change UK, the charity behind the Dry January campaign, there are several, including health benefits like brighter skin, improved cholesterol and blood sugar levels, weight loss, increased concentration, more regular sleep patterns, and improved blood pressure. And then there are the financial benefits too, with the average Dry January participant saving £180 in just that one month from not spending on alcohol.
But you can still reap some of those brilliant wellbeing benefits by simply cutting down on your drinking, you don't have to go totally T-total. Most of us can really benefit from simply becoming more aware of our drinking habits and then correcting any that might suggest we're drinking a bit too much.
In an appearance on Lorraine, Dr Amir Khan shared what we should be watching out for when it comes to drinking. He said, "There [are] things you need to look out for. So, if you think you need to cut down, or you get agitated if people mention how much you are drinking, or if you feel like you need a drink every day to get through that day, that usually means you are drinking too much."
So if you notice you're drinking too much and want to cut down, what should you do? Dr Amir has four top tips.
The first is to keep track of what you're drinking so you can see clearly how much you're drinking and how regularly. This will tell you whether you're having too much, which is really important to know.
"The kind of things that you should do are know your limits; 14 units a week for both men and women," he says. "And that's difficult to calculate but you can get apps that can track your drinking. There's something called the My Drink Aware app which is really useful for that."
His second tip is another simple one. "Ensure you have alcohol free days throughout the week," he says. "I would say two to three days of no alcohol every single week is really important."
That's probably not been the case for many of us over this past week, with Christmas and New Year's celebrations still in full swing. But that's okay, Dr Amir says. "[With] Christmas, I know people will have been drinking a little bit more and that's okay if it's short term," he explains - just make sure you don't make a habit of excessive drinking too often.
His fourth and final tip? He says, "Make sure that you eat before you drink any alcohol. Make sure you stay hydrated with water." This is vital as lining the stomach with food before drinking alcohol will help you to avoid getting too drunk too quickly and can also help your body manage alcohol better. Drinking water before, during, and after having alcohol can also help to reduce the risk of dehydration and also the effects of your hangover too!
There are plenty of tips for drinking less alcohol, but trying out all of them in your first couple of weeks attempting to cut down can be overwhelming. Instead, stick to Dr Amir's expert advice, track your habits to then adjust them as you pick out patterns in your behaviour.
