Drinking and Exercise

HERUY DRINKERS whats the connection? HERVY EXERCISERS Since the connection between taking shots and dropping Ibs was found in 1990, scientists have been striving to pinpoint what makes a those who run hard, party hard. Its a common misconception that those who are heavy drinkers are lazy couch-potatoes. In a 2009 study by the University of Miami, researchers studied 230,000 men and women of all ages, they found that people who had eight or more drinks a week were: 10% 10min MORE LIKELY TO ENAGE IN VIGOROUS WEIGHT LIFTING AND CARDIO ACTIVTY EXERCISED 10 MINUTES MORE EACH WEEK THAN MODERATE DRINKERS EXERCISED 20 MINUTES MORE EACH WEEK THAN NON-DRINKERS From Gym Rats to Barflies WORK HARD, PLAY HARD The connection comes from a certain personality type, the thrill seekers. As Ana Abrantes, Ph.D and professor at Brown University explains, "They engage in activities that produce intense sensations and can be quickly bored by things that dont produce those feelings." People who love to hit the bars love exercise and extreme sports because they offer constant stimulation. THE NATURAL ANTI-DEPRESSANT As most people know, exercise releases the natural anti-depressant seratonin, which is the neurotrans- mitter of your brain in charge of an array of different moods. It also stimulates the release of dopamine, located in the reward center of the brain and makes us feel great. Alcohol has a similar effect, although this route is less healthy and much more temporary. BLOW OFF SOME STEAM For some, it's as simple as finding multiple outlets to release the stress of their already busy lives. People Monday Work 9.5 meeting at 2 Jurday Thursday Work 9,5 Bar!! with full schedules tend to feel unfulfilled unless Wednerday Bas" meeting at l Work 9.5 meeting at II Work 95 meeting at Friday Work 95 every hour of their planner is filled. Makes more sense to fill in the blanks with activities that thelp them unload, such as a heavy spin-class, a six mile run, and getting very wasted with a group of friends. bar) bet, meeting at and Aun. 5 mile ron spir clars THE NEED TO REPENT T HAVE A 6 MILE RUN IN THE MORNING TO TOMORROW IM The more calories you take in, the stronger the guilt urges people to burn them off the next day. Or simply, they drink more because they know they can. Chugging an extra two or three cocktails wont hurt when they are aware of the heavy regimen they have planned for the next day. It's a personal way of counter-balancing the negative effects of drinking with the positive health affects of exercise. SLEEPING IN! BURN THIS OFF! THE CROSS-TOLERANCE In a recent study of at the University of Houston, scientists studied a group of rats with an exercise wheel and a group left sedentary. When all subjects were left in a cage with alco- hol, the previously active rats needed a lot more to show the same signs of intoxication. Because of the role that alcohol plays in our opioid system, research shows workouts cause a higher tolerance to booze by making it less rewarding and causing exercisers to need more for desired effects. High levels of alcohol displaces the glycogen needed to repair the post work-out muscle tissue by Downing too many drinks decreases sleep duration neccessary for muscle recovery by a nightly average of 50% 30 MINUTES WHY EXERCISE ISNT A FREE PASS Dehydration has a very negative effect on our endurance and for every gram of ethanol you consume your body lets go of Losing neccessary sleep reduces the release of hormones that allow muscle growth by as much as 10 ML WATER 70% Why Women Should Be More Cautious MORE BODY FAT LESS WATER LOWER DEHYDROGENASE FLUCTUATING HIGHER RISH HORMONES OF DISEASE Women have an important hormone called estrogen in their body, fluctuating levels Women, unfortunately, are more likely to develop alcohol related disorders, such as The primary enzyme used to Women have very different physiology, such as more body fat and less water per- centage in their bodies, so women can't absorb or dilute alcohol as well as men. break down alcohol in order to metabolize it is called dehydrogenese;women actually have a lower conce- affect alcohol metabolism liver disease. Alcohol also increases the risk of breast and women's tolerance to drinking changes each day. cancer but excessive exercise tration of it in their bodies does not decrease this risk. Credited: Article “Drinking and Evercise : How Alcohol Affects Your Body" By Selene Yeager of Womens Health Magazine