How to Prepare for a Night of Drinking for a Better Tomorrow
Key Takeaways
- Set yourself up for success by making mindful decisions before drinking, such as eating beforehand, pacing yourself, and planning your next day's activities.
- Ensure you get both quality and sufficient sleep to recover and feel your best the next day, especially if you have plans and responsibilities.
- Combat alcohol-induced sluggishness by sticking to your usual routines, like exercise and social activities, to help restore your energy and chemical balance.
In previous blogs, we’ve gone in depth on how our bodies metabolize and are affected by alcohol consumption. Now, let’s talk about how to enjoy alcohol while still being able to feel good the next day.
While alcohol comes with its downsides, it’s still a big part of social life and deeply rooted in cultures around the world. When we choose to drink, doing so mindfully—in ways that support our bodies’ ability to handle alcohol—allows us to enjoy it while still waking up fresh and well-rested the day after.
Tips for drinking mindfully
So, what are some ways to drink mindfully? Here are some essential practices to support your body when partaking in an alcoholic beverage or two.
1. Slow alcohol absorption by having food in your stomach
Setting yourself up for a great next day after drinking starts before your first drink. You’ve probably heard the advice not to drink on an empty stomach, and for good reason. Eating beforehand slows the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream, keeping your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) lower and giving your liver more time to process it efficiently. The result? You feel better the next day.
In one clinical study, those who ate a light meal vs. a heavy meal before drinking saw 28% and 65% reductions in peak BAC, respectively, compared to those drinking on an empty stomach (Lin et al., 1976). Another study found that eating beforehand not only lowered peak BAC but also accelerated alcohol metabolism—boosting ethanol disposal rates by 36-50% (Jönsson & Jones, 1994).
But what kind of food is most effective in slowing alcohol absorption? Research suggests that meals high in carbohydrates and fat have the strongest effect, followed by protein rich-meals (Sedman et al., 1976).
Beyond slowing alcohol absorption and giving your liver more time to process it, eating before drinking also reduces alcohol concentration in the intestines. This can help minimize gut irritation from alcohol and acetaldehyde—yet another reason why fueling up beforehand sets you up for a better next day.
2. Make important decisions before you start drinking
Don’t leave anything up to chance when it comes to alcohol. One of the first things impaired by drinking is your judgment. Studies show that alcohol disrupts the function of key brain regions responsible for decision-making and self-control, including the anterior cingulate cortex, lateral prefrontal cortex, and parietal brain region (Anderson et al., 2011).
That’s why it’s essential to plan ahead. While spontaneity may sound fun in the moment, setting clear intentions before drinking can help you reduce the undesired next-day effects of alcohol—and more importantly, keep you safe:
- Decide how much you’re going to drink.
- Set a goal bedtime.
- Secure a safe ride home. Alcohol impairs executive functions, perception, psychomotor functions, reaction time, and vigilance. 35% of fatal road accidents are alcohol-related—don’t be a part of that statistic (Garrisson et al., 2021).
3. Support your liver and kidneys with plenty of water while drinking
This might sound contradictory to what we have previously stated many times about the “alcohol causes dehydration” myth. While alcohol doesn’t cause the levels of dehydration we’ve been led to believe, drinking water is still a good idea for an entirely different set of reasons.
For one, it helps you pace yourself between drinks. But beyond that, water plays a key role in supporting your liver and kidneys as they work overtime to metabolize ethanol. Staying hydrated aids the kidneys as they work to flush alcohol’s byproducts efficiently from your system. While in the liver, hydration helps maintain optimal blood volume, ensuring that alcohol metabolism continues smoothly without interruption.
4. Pace yourself
Your liver can process alcohol at a rate of 0.15 g ethanol/L per hour (Jones, 2008: table 3.7), which translates to about 0.5-1.0 standard drinks per hour. This means that the faster you drink, the longer your body will be exposed to ethanol and acetaldehyde before your liver can process them.
For example, if you have four drinks over four hours, your BAC will peak at the equivalent of two drinks, because your liver is continuously processing alcohol as you consume and it will largely be done processing one drink before you start the next. However, if you drink four drinks in one hour, your BAC will spike significantly higher, and it will take 3-4 hours for your body to metabolize enough alcohol to bring your BAC down to what it would have been in the slower drinking scenario (Cederbaum, 2012).
Even if you consume the same total amount of alcohol in these two scenarios, drinking quickly means exposing your body to higher levels of toxic and inflammatory byproducts for a much longer period of time. Pacing yourself not only helps you stay in control but also minimizes prolonged exposure to these compounds.
5. Try to go to bed sober to get better quality sleep
As noted previously, alcohol disrupts sleep by interfering with neurotransmitters in the brain, reducing REM sleep—particularly in the second half of the night (Ebrahim et al., 2013). Additionally, its muscle-relaxing effects increase the likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea, leading to irregular breathing, snoring, and further impaired sleep quality (Simou, Britton & Leonardi-Bee, 2018). As a result, it’s no surprise that consuming alcohol too close to bedtime causes next-day sleepiness and performance impairment (Roehrs & Roth, 2001).
To minimize these effects, the key is to have as little alcohol in your system as possible when you go to sleep. Assuming your drinks are evenly spaced throughout the night, here’s a helpful approach to timing alcohol consumption:
- Make sure the number of hours between your first drink and when you go to sleep is at least 1.5 times the number of drinks you had that night.
- Stop drinking at least two hours before bedtime.
For example, if you plan to have four drinks in a night and want to go to bed at midnight, aim to start drinking no later than 6 PM (4 drinks x 1.5 = 6 hours) and stop drinking at 10 PM.
As you read about in tip #4, the timing of your drinks makes a big difference. If you drink from 10 PM to 2 AM and go straight to bed, the alcohol in your system won’t be processed until 5 or 6 AM. While alcohol's sedating effect may help you fall asleep more quickly, you're likely to experience frequent wake-ups as your BAC decreases. If you wake up at 9 AM, it will feel like you only got 3-4 hours of rest. However, if you stop drinking earlier (i.e., 8 PM to midnight), your body has more time to metabolize the alcohol, which means better sleep quality and a more rested next morning.
6. Get plenty of rest
A lot of complex biochemical reactions occur in your body when you drink, many of which are beyond your control. While lack of sleep is a major factor in a rough next day, rest is one area where you can take charge with some advance planning.
In addition to focusing on sleep quality, it’s equally important to ensure you get enough sleep. This is especially crucial if you have plans the next day. If you have a workout class at 10 AM Sunday morning, backtrack when you need to go to bed to ensure you get 7-9 hours of rest. From there, determine when to stop drinking to ensure those hours are truly restful.
7. Think of your routines and commitments the next day as requirements
Alcohol affects the levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in your brain,which can initially make you feel more confident and relaxed. However, as the alcohol wears off, anxiety can set in. Physical symptoms and feelings of guilt can worsen this anxiety, as shown in studies of social drinking among students (McKinney & Coyle, 2005). In fact, alcohol-induced anxiety can last up to 16 hours (Karadayian et al., 2013). This can lead to procrastination on tasks, skipping events, and canceling activities like a workout the next day.
Instead of spending all day on the couch, try pushing through and sticking to your plans, even if it’s difficult at first. Doing so will significantly reduce your overall discomfort. As much as possible, maintain your usual routines like exercise, outdoor activities, and chores. This will help restore your chemical balance and boost endorphin release in a healthier way.
8. Drink ZBiotics Pre-Alcohol
Lastly, drink ZBiotics Pre-Alcohol Probiotic Drink before you start drinking. It’s designed to replicate the natural process of your liver, but do it in your gut. By drinking Pre-Alcohol, the goal is to augment your gut’s natural ability to digest acetaldehyde while you drink and while you sleep—helping you make the most of the next day.
Mindful drinking starts before the first sip
Every day is precious, and time is valuable. We all want to be able to enjoy a night out with friends while still making the most of the next day with productive work and fun activities. There’s no reason to waste an entire day on the couch just because you had a few drinks the night before.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be a tradeoff between a night out and the entire next day (or worse, the whole weekend). By incorporating mindful action, planning, plenty of rest, and self-care, you can strike a balance where you can enjoy the social benefits of drinking with friends and still wake up ready to dive into your planned activities.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice.