Preventing Xmas overload

A glass of wine while you’re cooking lunch. Another with the meal. Pudding soaked in brandy and rum butter, followed by a handful of liqueur chocolates. A brandy in front of the TV and the evening rounded off with glass of port before bed…

If you drank that much every day, you’d be worried. But at Christmas, drinking to excess is often somehow seen as excusable. For many, alcohol is as much a part of the traditional Christmas as cranberry sauce and argumentative games of Monopoly.

One survey found that alcohol consumption in the UK shoots up by over 40% in December – more than anywhere else in the world. (1) Whether it’s the office party and big nights out on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, or days in with the extended family, it’s easy to find yourself drinking too much, too often.

Over the top

"People say “oh well, it’s Christmas” – it’s an excuse to go over the top," says James Morris of the AERC Alcohol Academy. "There’s a lot of evidence that alcohol consumption and associated harm increases over Christmas. Violence and A&E admissions particularly show real rises."

But it’s not just the short-term consequences you need to think of. If you have a sustained spell of regular heavy drinking, explains James, you’re likely to find it harder to cut back down to sensible levels. The guidelines recommend that women should not regularly exceed 2-3 units daily and that men should not regularly exceed 3-4 units daily – something that many don’t stick to over the festive season.

"Any period where you’re drinking at higher levels is going to increase the risk of alcohol dependence," says James. "Dependence isn’t just a physical thing. It’s as much characterised by continuing your behaviour despite negative consequences – which might be family feuds, partnership breakdown or lying in bed all day with a hangover."

New Year headaches

After the excesses of the Christmas holidays, it’s no wonder people resolve to cut down on alcohol in the New Year. And if you’ve piled on the pounds (the calories in your drink probably didn’t help) and spent a packet on partying, you’ll probably be cutting down on comfort foods and staying in to save money too.

Why not take it a little easier this Christmas? By cutting out the excesses, you’ll feel far better come New Year – and you’ll be able to allow yourself the odd indulgence in those dark, depressing January days.

Top tips

Here are five tips for keeping your Christmas on the right side of merry:

1. When you’re drinking at friends’ or family’s houses, beware of home-poured measures. A large glass of wine can easily contain 3 units of alcohol, while the glass of whiskey your uncle pours you is likely to be two or three times the volume you’d get in a pub.

2. If you’re drinking at lunchtime, lay off in the evening – or vice versa. Otherwise, you’ll soon exceed your daily units.

3. If you do find yourself drinking more than you planned, try to give your body a break from alcohol. Avoid the hair-of-the-dog – try a spiced tea or hot milk with a festively flavoured syrup like cinnamon instead.

4. Splash out on some sumptuous soft drinks. Designated drivers and non-drinkers won’t be the only ones to appreciate alcohol-free punch and other low- or no-alcohol “mocktails”. Top-of-the-range juices and smoothies are still cheaper than alcohol.

5. Plan some alcohol-free activities. Why not recreate the joys of childhood Christmases by having a Disney DVD night, a board-game marathon or a trip to the ice rink?

References

(1) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4115523.stm

Page last updated by

Root User, 19 Apr 2010.

Page checked on

14 Dec 2009