Why does nobody talk about the biggest problem in wellbeing?
People talk about sleep and wellness. People talk about movement and wellness. People talk about hydration and wellness. Face it, you can’t be resilient these days unless you’ve got a really big water bottle.
Yet, no one is talking about alcohol and wellness.
Which is a problem because if you’re drinking on too many days or even a bit much at the weekend then buying blackout curtains, getting a fitness tracker and drinking lots of water isn’t going to help.
Alcohol affects your sleep, your concentration, your mood, your microbiome and your blood sugar levels. It trashes your willpower and self-control. And you don’t even need to drink that much for it to happen.
Just two drinks reduce the quality of your sleep by 24% and raises your cortisol levels by 18%.
Yet we never talk about it.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. I have a suggestion…
Let’s start talking about alcohol.
Let’s build awareness of the impact alcohol has, rather than thoughtlessly serving it at events. Let’s start treating it like a hazardous chemical, rather than handing it out as a gift. Let’s start supporting all of our colleagues to rebalance their relationship with alcohol, rather than waiting until it becomes a disciplinary problem. Let’s get alcohol aware.