Do you miss meeting friends for drinks or dancing the night away at the local hotspot?
You’re definitely not alone. No one was really prepared for how long bars and clubs would be closed, and it’s taking its toll on us all.
But like so many lemons life throws us, we have an opportunity to make lemonade. And you can even take it with a splash of vodka if you’d like.
In this post, we explore the silver linings of bars and clubs being closed. Because there really are five ways you can benefit from this downtime.
1. Save money
Even if you drink just as much alcohol as you did before, you’ll save money when you buy from the grocery store or liquor store. At the bar or club, you can expect to pay three to five times the actual cost of that drink.
We all know this is the case, and we don’t really mind because we’re paying for the atmosphere. But when the atmosphere is no longer an option, it’s a great time to start saving money.
For example, at a bar in New York City, you can expect to pay a minimum of $6 for a Jack and coke. If you were to make that same drink at home, you’d end up spending about $1.25 for the same number of ounces. Of course, you’d have to buy enough supplies to make many drinks, but that’s usually not a problem.
2. Consume fewer calories
If weight loss is a goal for you, this is the perfect time to start on a new diet or lifestyle. Unlike any other time in your life, you don’t have to worry about meeting friends at the bar for happy hour. All those drink meetups add a ton of empty calories to your diet that can really cause you to put on extra weight, especially in the midsection.
Let’s say you meet friends for beers twice a week and have two IPAs each time for a total of four IPAs. Each drink averages 200 calories, so that’s an extra 800 calories you’re consuming each week.
3. Make better food choices
Have you ever noticed that after a night of binge drinking, you’re always desperate to hit up the pizza shop? You’ve just consumed who knows how many calories, yet your body is signaling that it’s hungry. Ravished, even. And you’re not craving salad. Instead, you’re reaching for the fattiest, fried foods you can find.
There are at least two reasons why we make poor food choices after a night of drinking. First, we have reduced inhibitions. So, while your logical brain may override unhealthy cravings during the day, that part of you has checked out. Second, alcohol interacts with the brain in a way that signals hunger, so even if you’re full, your brain is telling you to eat heavy, calorie-dense food.
4. Give your liver a break
If you’ve gotten into the habit of drinking alcohol every night at the bar, this time could serve as a wakeup call. You may think all is well, but you can bet your body is crying for help.
Your liver is one of the most important organs to your overall health because it helps clean the body and blood of toxins. But when you’re overloading it with toxins daily, it can only do so much. It’s always a good idea to give yourself a break from drinking, so your body can begin to detox naturally.
When you drink alcohol regularly, especially in large amounts, you are at risk of developing a fatty liver. And a fatty liver isn’t going to function as well as it should, but it can also lead to an irreversible condition called cirrhosis of the liver.
Drinking alcohol regularly can also lead to addiction. Experts are now looking at addiction as a brain disorder because it rewires the brain to seek alcohol above all else. And we can never be sure exactly when this will happen.
5. Find healthier habits
If you’re feeling a loss after bars and clubs have closed, this may be a sign that you’ve been spending too much time slacking off. Instead of engaging in mind-numbing activities, try taking up a hobby. Find your zen by incorporating yoga, massage, or journaling to bring some peace to your mind. Start spending more time doing things you truly enjoy, and you won’t miss drinking quite so much.
We don’t know exactly when things will go back to “normal,” but if we use this time wisely, what we consider as normal may get an upgrade. Instead of spending so much time at bars and clubs, we can start reconnecting with ourselves and living healthier lives.