Rethinking our Drinking Accordion Folder

Alcohol affects your sleep and your mood – so drinking heavily or regularly can make many people feel tired, under the weather or just a bit flat.

If you feel like you need a bit more get up and go, try drinking a little less or having more days without drinking. Most people feel like they have better sleep and more energy in just a few days.

Drinking a bit less could also help your concentration at work, helping you feel less stressed and enjoy a better work-life balance.

Having alcohol in your system prevents you getting a restful night’s sleep. You may sleep more lightly, wake up earlier and find it hard to drop back off.

Cutting back on alcohol can help you sleep – and better sleep will help you feel better and increase your energy levels.

After a few nights of deep and restful sleep, you could notice a big positive difference in how you are feeling.

If you’ve ever totted up the amount you spend on alcohol, you’ll know that drinking can be expensive.

Reducing your drinking can leave you with more cash in your purse or wallet to spend on the finer things in life – or to treat your family and loved ones.

Lots of alcoholic drinks are high in calories and lots are also high in sugar – for example, one pint of lager contains the same number of calories as slice of pizza.

Alcohol also reduces the amount of fat our bodies burn for energy, so while alcohol is in our system we hold onto and store more fat than we would if we weren’t drinking.

Reducing your drinking will reduce the amount of empty calories you are consuming, and may help you to lose weight as part of a healthy diet.

Learn more about how our dedicated Help With My Weight services can help you

Alcohol dehydrates the body, including the skin. If we drink too much or too often, it can leave your skin looking grey and dull and lead to irritation and inflammation.

Drinking water helps to replace the moisture lost, but cutting back on alcohol will help put more colour in your cheeks, and make your skin looker fuller and healthier.

If you are thinking about having a baby, staying fit and well is best possible preparation. If you are planning a pregnancy, it is safest not to drink any alcohol. This will help to keep your body in the best possible shape and reduce the risk of harming your baby.

Drinking can affect fertility in both men and women, making it harder for you to get pregnant.

If you have stopped using contraception because you are trying to get pregnant, the best advice is to avoid drinking alcohol as you may become pregnant straight away.

If you are having treatment to assist fertility, even light drinking can reduce the chances of success. Drinking excessively can damage the egg and sperm.

Drinking alcohol while pregnant can lead to long-term harm to your baby. The more you drink, the greater the risk.  Avoiding drinking alcohol while pregnant will significantly reduce these risks and support your baby's health.

Your midwife is there to listen, support you, and offer help and guidance.

If you are concerned that you may be dependent on alcohol, your midwife can arrange for you to get further support from a specialist substance misuse midwife.