As you drink, it’s not easy to keep track of how much alcohol you’re putting in your system over the conversations, laughs, and food. Bringing a notepad and pen to take down each drink to keep track of consumption isn’t the most appealing way to monitor yourself, isn’t it?
Luckily, there are proven ways you can monitor your drinking. Doing so is especially important, especially if you’re recovering from a drinking problem, which treatment centers like Camelback Recovery LLC help you with. But if you’re in a social setting, you can only rely on yourself to avoid intoxication.
Here are ways you can dodge intoxication and the hangover that comes with it:
1. Slow down.
While you’re out with other people, it’s more than likely that you won’t have the chance to watch how much you’re drinking as you talk to them, dance, or do some other activities as you drink.
You may not feel the effects of drinking alcohol without enough intervals between each drink, but everything will come down at once. You won’t even notice that you’re edging yourself to intoxication as you consume your drinks.
So, the number one way to not get drunk is by slowing down. Know that drinking isn’t a race nor a competition.
2. Drink water.
If you notice someone you’re drinking with taking sips of water in between drinks, they’re likely trying to avoid intoxication. Aside from water filling them up enough to not be able to consume a lot of alcohol, they’re also helping their bodies adjust to the dehydrating side effects of liquor.
To avoid getting intoxicated, drink water during the intervals of each drink. You’ll be slowing down the effects of alcohol and preventing a hangover you’ll regret the next day.
3. Eat.
A piece of overused but practical and effective advice is to eat before drinking any alcoholic beverage. It helps you consume less because of the feeling of being full, and you won’t give your guts a hard time in case you feel the need to throw up.
Be careful with your pre-alcohol food choices, though. Greasy and heavy meals can make you feel nauseous when you combine them with alcohol. If you have snacks on the table as you drink, make sure you eat the right ones to avoid making yourself feel sick.
4. Don’t mix drinks.
If you’re in an environment where you have many choices when it comes to what you’ll be drinking, make sure you stick to a single kind rather than putting your body under a lot of stress by mixing drinks.
Not only you’ll get drunk faster, but you’ll also risk getting stomach aches the next day because of mixing varying drinks with different ingredients up.
Is there a safe approach to drinking?
We can’t tell you that there’s a safe way to do something we’ve heard no good things about health-wise. Drinking alcohol without moderation can lead to many unfortunate situations such as car accidents, addiction, health problems, and many more.
But if a person wants to drink, the closest thing we can tell them about safe consumption is to drink below their tolerance. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans stated that moderate drinking equates to women not drinking more than a single drink and men not going over two drinks.
Here’s more on how you can drink responsibly:
- Avoid driving after alcohol consumption.
- Call a cab or have someone you trust drive you home after drinking.
- Always fill your stomach with a good meal before consuming alcohol.
- Don’t take any medication while consuming alcohol. The effects can be the medication getting stronger or ineffective when mixed with alcohol, both of which can be dangerous.
Another way to safe consumption is to find out if anyone in your family has a history of alcohol addiction. Having someone with history would mean you’re susceptible to developing the same type of addiction.
This means you should be more careful around alcoholic beverages and the way you consume them. People with health conditions, underage, pregnant, are also advised not to consume alcohol to prevent serious health problems.
As we all know, alcohol is one of the main causes of road accidents and is blamed for poor decision-making, among other things. Choosing to consume alcohol is up to an individual, given they’re of age to do so. But one thing is required of them, and that is to be responsible enough to drink in moderation because it’s not only themselves they’re putting in harm’s way.