Happy & Healthy

we drink wine like water and it has to stop

I woke up with a massive hangover last Tuesday. Yep, that’s right: Tuesday morning. And what’s worse is that I find it to be normal. A couple years back I would have considered it to be the exact opposite of normal. Nowadays I couldn’t care less if it’s a Friday or a Monday night. If I have something I want to celebrate (which is pretty often now when I come to think of it), I pour myself another glass and raise a toast.

And I’m not the only one. It’s not uncommon to come across a friend or a colleague who is in the same hungover state that I’m in. No matter what day of the week it is. A study from last year performed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) proved my point. Higher educated women drink more than lower educated women in Western countries. And the amounts are pretty shocking: on average two glasses a day (yes, it sounds very low but the people that conduct these kinds of researches have studied for it, I guess). The OECD states that women with a higher education often have better paid jobs with more responsibilities, which results in them having more stress. And they also encounter more occasions in which they expand their social life and go out with colleagues. Where heavy drinking is the norm. And to top it all off, the ‘gender gap’ between men and women when it comes to the amount of alcohol they drink is closing rapidly.

If I take myself as an example, this theory is right on the money. Stress is also a minor detail”

If I take myself as an example, this theory is right on the money. Stress is also a minor detail. How great is it to unwind with a glass of wine or two after a long day? And another thing is, there are so many business gatherings that involve drinks after office hours – at rapid pace I might add. It doesn’t help that I drink as much as a full grown man either. It really seems as though there’s something to celebrate on a daily basis. And if there’s nothing to celebrate, why not celebrate that there isn’t anything to celebrate and just spend a lovely night in? Gulp, gulp, gulp.

What I’m trying to say is this: it has to stop. At least for me it does. I kept track of my alcohol intake. Daaaayum. I drank seven glasses of wine on Friday night (accompanied by a dozen course meal – but let me tell ya, I was all over the place). I drank three glasses of wine on Saturday (we had guests), half a glass of wine on Sunday (I couldn’t take another sip) and I chugged another five glasses of wine with the family on Monday. The only upside is that I didn’t drink on Tuesday, because otherwise Tuesday would turn into Barfday.

So that’s why I’ve decided that it’s no longer fine to drink wine like water. Because it’s really becoming unhealthy and more importantly (!) not fun anymore. If you drink on a daily basis, it kinda takes the fun out of it. I catch myself forcing down a glass sometimes. From now on I’m going to take my time with a glass of wine, order more water between glasses (someone has to be the first to do it) and I’ll have at least two alcohol-free days a week. Preferably two days in a row just to make it a good cleanse. It makes drinking wine a lot more fun. And the next morning less painful.