Having a drink can be a nice way to relax and unwind a bit. Still, too much alcohol can be bad for your health. As such, it’s important to practice safe drinking habits. Doing so will ensure you can enjoy yourself without putting yourself at serious risk…
How-to Practice Safe Drinking: Important Info
Drink sizes
To better practice safe drinking, it’s good to know what the standard serving size for a drink is. In the U.S, a standard drink will contain 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol. However, each type of drink will have a different standard serving size.
For instance, beer usually has that 0.6 ounces in a 12-ounce serving size, with an average ABV of 5%. Malt liquor will have it in 8-ounce servings, with an ABV of around 8%. Wines tend to have 5-ounce serving sizes with an ABV of 12%, and hard liquor will be in 1.5-ounce servings with 40% or more ABV.
Excessive drinking
Those who don’t practice safe drinking tend to usually practice excessive drinking. This type of drinking tends to come in two forms: binge drinking and heavy drinking. While you may think that they’re similar, it mainly comes down to when those drinks are consumed.
Binge drinking is when someone consume a lot of drinks in a short amount of time. It’s also the most common type of excessive drinking and occurs if someone has 4-5 or more drinks at a time, usually within an hour. Heavy drinking is when someone has 15 or more drinks throughout a week.
Drinking in moderation
The best way to practice safe drinking is by doing so in moderation. In general, this is done by only having 1-2 drinks per day. Of course, it’s much better to space one’s drinking out. That way, when you do drink, you can do so without worrying that you’re crossing into heavy drinking.
At the same time, you should also be mindful of how much you drink at a time. A person’s body can process one standard drink per hour. Therefore, try and pace your drinking accordingly. Don’t have more than one during that time span, and drink things like water instead to keep hydrated.