If your autopilot response to close out your day is to pour a glass of wine or crack a beer – chances are you’re performing a daily habit that despite being within government approved guidelines, could be costing you far more than you think.
If you live in the UK or the United States and you’re reaching for a glass of something every night, you are in-fact within the recommended guidelines from local health bodies. Huzzah!
The UK NHS recommends no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, spread across 3 days or more. That’s around 6 medium (175ml) glasses of wine, or 6 pints of 4% beer.
The CDC in the U.S. describes moderate alcohol consumption as two drinks (12oz of beer which is 0.6 pints / 5 oz of wine, 142 ml) or less for men, per day, for men, and half that for women. So a little more liberal of a pour than our British sensibilities.
Let’s look as to what following the U.S. guidance could mean over the course of one month for someone having a daily glass of wine of 175ml
Cost of a daily glass of wine
The average cost of Waitrose’s top 6 best selling red wines is £14.96, but let’s say you’re making an-everyday-choice of a bottle in the region of £8.79, a Spanish Rioja Tempranillo. A nightly pour equates to £2.05 per glass if you’re measuring exactly – which let’s face it after a stressful day is unlikely.
Our cheery glass of Rioja is costing us £57.42 a month with exact pours.
But what if you’re pouring 4 glasses (ish) from a bottle and it’s more like 2 bottles a week, who leaves that last dribble? That’s more like £70.32 a month. A difference of £12.90
Just measuring your pour could save you £154.80 a year – that’s a decent flight within Europe, or a day out with the family, theatre tickets, new running shoes, all kindsa things.
If you’re getting through two bottles, of average wine a week, that is costing you in the region of £843.84 a year – if someone gave that you right now, then wanted to take it back, what would experience would they be robbing you of?
A round the world flight? The deposit on a new car? The trip you’ve been saying “we should” for years? How much would you give to make these things happen?
Calories
Our model Rioja packs a decent punch, 13.5% Alcohol by Volume (ABV).
Drink aware has a great tool for displaying calories and for a 13% ABV wine they estimate 159 calories per 175ml glass.
Across our standard month, that’s 47,770 calories, the equivalent of having 15.7 cheeseburgers. So every, other night, imagine having a side of cheeseburger with your meal. Would you really do that?
What else does a nightly pour cost you?
Sleep
In a nature study men who were stable heavy drinkers were more likely to wake tired and wake several times in the night. In a 2020 study, highlights the need to further explore the differences between men and women and the affects of alcohol (side note: yet another reason why girls should be encouraged into STEM subjects so that studies are not always conducted on men).
Researchers who conducted a 36 year study concluded that alcohol use is associated with poor sleep quality, and that such that alcohol use predicts poor sleep quality later in life. Since poor sleep is associate with an increased risk of disease, reducing the factors that affect sleep as early as possible in someone’s life can have multiplying benefits further down the road
If we’re deploying the mindset of being a Corporate Athlete – using our brains as our sport, then the effects of that daily glass are magnified further.
Dehydration, muscle cramps, impaired motor skills, low blood sugar, vitamin and mineral depletion, lower muscle recovery and elevated heart rate are all results of consuming alcohol. Things we want to avoid if we’re trying to maximise our time in and out of work.
It’s likely too, that the compound effects of regular drinking on food choices, and mood mean you’re making less than ideal choices elsewhere, which are compounding the money you’re spending, and the sleep you’re not getting.
Why could drinking be a good thing?
It’s not all doom and gloom and you don’t have to be completely tee-total or move to a monastery just to avoid a daily glass of wine.
We are sociable creatures, humans, and we’ve been fermenting and brewing since we settled in one place – read Sapiens for more on this. Sharing connection and having positive experiences as a result of down-regulating can be hugely beneficial. Women especially benefit from social connection – oxytocin released from physical touch and shared connection (especially with other women) is a pre-cursor to progesterone, crucial for maintaining a regular cycle.
Teams thrive with bonding. In high stress environments where trust is key amongst colleagues and teams, sharing the opportunity to down-regulate together, work through any tough conversations in a positive relaxed way can have long term benefits hard to quantify. “Let’s grab a beer or a glass of wine and talk it through…” much more disarming than, “I need to schedule a Teams call to talk to you”. Having tough conversations within the right setting can be a setup for success.
How to approach drinking with a time-rich, crystal clear attitude
So what approach can you take to have all the upsides of a glass-of-something, and still book that trip to Bali with your savings?
Say to yourself – “Drink for me?” A-B-C
Aware– be aware of what you like about it, and what it’s costing you and be deliberate of your approach. Want to relax with friends, celebrate a milestone, great. If you want to consistently see results in the gym, your relationships and the application of your efforts at work – prioritising sleep ahead of a default habit will pay dividends.
Benefit – decide if given a particular social situation or occasion, feeling more relaxed by having a moderate amount of alcohol would be a benefit. Are you having a lovely meal to which a glass of something would add value and pair perfectly with the meal, or would you rather keep saving for that big trip? Decide on the benefit you’re getting by partaking or not.
Costs – if consuming alcohol on a regular basis is costing you more than you’re prepared to keep giving away, start making small changes towards where you want to be. This could look like measuring your pour, no-wine-wednesdays or simply “thanks but I’m driving tonight”.
Being more deliberate and thoughtful about a daily habit can not only save you money, time spent nursing health issues down the road and give you a better night’s sleep, it might just be the ticket to revealing what else you could change as a result. Cheers!
If you’re ready to make some health and life-style changes Book a Call and let’s get started on making you Time-Rich and crystal clear, so you can focus on what matters most.
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