For some reason, part and parcel of adult life is an expected enthusiasm for drinking alcohol, particularly in excess and ideally in a pub or club setting.
As with many other vices in modern life, drinking small amounts on occasion is generally accepted to be fine, but regardless of your reasons and personal motivation for wanting to reduce your alcohol consumption, you have come to the right place.
Here are four key reasons to consider reducing your weekly alcohol intake.
1. Your Blood Pressure Reading Will Improve
Especially for adults over the age of fifty, but indeed for anyone of any age, it is important to keep an eye on your blood pressure, and reducing your alcohol intake can make a huge improvement in this area.
High blood pressure can cause a host of complications in terms of your physical health, including the following as just a sample:
- Stroke and heart attacks
- Aortic aneurysms
- Heart disease
- Kidney disease
- Vascular dementia
- Peripheral arterial disease
2. Your Sleep Will Improve
Even if you feel as if you currently receive a sufficient amount of sleep each night, it may well be the case that the percentage of REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) you are getting could be much lower than you think.
Drinking less alcohol or taking a temporary break from drinking entirely will result in a much healthier REM cycle. These days, there are some delicious, more nutritious, and truly enjoyable alcohol alternatives. They will leave you feeling more relaxed after a night out with friends, and you owe it to yourself to try them.
3. Balanced Hormone Production
Especially for women, but for both genders generally, drinking alcohol regularly or semi-regularly can reduce the levels of progesterone produced in the brain. In pre-menopausal women, this lessening of progesterone can heavily increase how tired, fatigued, and not to mention irritable they feel.
In addition to reducing alcohol intake, other key ways to naturally balance your hormone levels include eating less fatty and sugary foods, ensuring you have enough protein, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising for at least twenty minutes daily.
4. A Healthy Liver
Finally, you will probably already be fully aware of the undeniable link between excessive drinking and liver problems. If this is something that you are concerned about, then reducing your alcohol intake will absolutely result in a stronger and healthier liver.
Ideally, there should be no fat in and around the liver area or at least minimal levels of fat, yet when a person drinks too much alcohol, they are at risk of developing fatty liver disease. The good news, however, is that fatty liver disease caused by alcohol can be reversed, as the liver is an organ that has an impressive regeneration rate.
After one month of stopping drinking entirely, studies have shown that the fat levels of a person’s liver can fall by an impressive 15%.
If you need a reason to consider reducing your alcohol intake, then this article has outlined four of the most compelling ones.
