Some Thoughts About Responsible Holiday Drinking

·         All in Moderation (seriously)

·         Add Some Rocks (figuratively speaking)

Slow Down and Switch to Soda (you'll appreciate it in the morning)

Yes drinking a lot not only gets you a hang-over. But just about this time of the year, doctors report seeing a spike in erratic heartbeats—dubbed “holiday heart syndrome.” It is more common among people who usually aren't heavy drinkers but drink in excess for a short time.

“Alcohol may be toxic enough to cardiac cells that it disrupts the coordination required to maintain a normal heart rate,” says Kenneth Mukamal, an internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston.

Melting ice dilutes a cocktail and creates more liquid.  to avoid a quick buzz order your  drink on the rocks, try and to sip it longer before you get a refill. Use soda water as a mixer for liquor (a cocktail with liquor and club soda is only about 100 calories), and don’t be ashamed to add ice cubes to bubbly.

If you drink heavily, you may pass out more quickly then normal; But, the problem begins when the effects of your drinking begin to wear off. The period in which your body is metabolizing the alcohol is when sleep is disrupted.

You may wake up frequently in the middle of the night (even if you don’t remember doing so) and miss out on restorative rest. The best strategy is to allow time for the alcohol levels in your body to drop before going to sleep; at the very least, give your body several hours to burn through some of the alcohol before going down for the night.