What happens to your body if you drink alcohol after workout
What happens to your body if you drink alcohol after workout (Freepik.com)
After a tiring and stressful workout, some people drink alcohol. But this habit is not healthy. The body needs to restore fluid levels after training, and alcohol increases the risk of dehydration, according to Live Strong.
Why you shouldn't drink alcohol after a workout
It increases the risk of dehydration
Just like caffeine, alcohol is a diuretic, which means it encourages your body to excrete more fluid. This is not good when you're trying to rehydrate after a workout.
Roger Adams, a certified sports nutritionist, says that when a person exercises, especially at high intensity or in hot climates, they lose a lot of fluids through sweating as the body tries to cool down.
It is important to restore these fluid levels after exercise. Drinking alcohol can delay this process.
When your body is dehydrated, alcohol can also have a deeper impact on brain function, impairing your ability to think and promoting dangerous behaviors.
Impact on injuries
Alcohol can interfere with your body's natural healing abilities, such as your blood's ability to clot. Drinking alcohol after a workout can slow down the recovery process, so any injuries sustained during a workout will heal more slowly.
Drinking alcohol after exercise can also lead to additional swelling of the tissues as it opens up blood vessels, which can make the injury worse.
A great stress for the body
Alcohol reduces the activity in parts of your brain that are responsible for movement, speech, and decision-making.
The nervous system will lose a great amount of energy to cope with the stress your body has just experienced in the gym. By drinking after a workout, you are making it harder for your body to find balance on a cellular level. This, in turn, puts an even greater strain on the body's metabolic and cardiovascular processes, which can interfere with healthy recovery.
What you should do
If you decide to drink alcohol after a workout, there are a few things you can do to reduce the negative effects.
Hydrate first
Before you drink alcohol, make sure you drink enough water to replenish the amount of fluid you lost through sweat.
Also, try to drink three times as much water as alcohol when you do consume.
Nutritious food after training
A meal or snack consisting of both carbohydrates and protein will help restore energy to your muscles. Eating a snack while drinking alcohol will also help slow down its absorption.
Drinking after a workout is not something you should do regularly, as it can slow down the recovery process, worsen injuries, and make you susceptible to dehydration.
