Forge Press meets the daring participants of a three-week long ‘alcohol experiment’ to discover the benefits of life without booze.
It’s highly likely that you – yes, you, reading this – are a binge drinker. I’m not saying that you’re a bad sort of binge drinker – y’know, the type that gets caught vomiting into a pint glass in a corner of Bar One, or photographed in Cardiff with their knickers around their ankles. I’m merely suggesting that binge drinking is surprisingly easy to do.
You might not think that binge drinking is a big deal, but your liver does. And so do your neighbours if you stagger home and decide to boot over some wheelie bins, as some well-refreshed lads did outside my bedroom window at 3.00am last week. Cheers!
Although we’re unlikely to classify ourselves as being binge drinkers, falling into that category involves consuming what many would see as being a normal amount of alcohol – for example, four pints of premium lager on a night out, or three large glasses of white wine.
Somewhat predictably, research identifies university students especially as being self-identifying when it comes to classifying what constitutes ‘binge drinking’, with drinkers having significantly higher definitions of what it means than non-drinkers.
Booze is the ubiquitous undercurrent of student culture. Perhaps you only dabble; perhaps you’re a wreckhead. In either case booze will affect your time at university.
“Whether they choose to consume it or not” says Natasha Wood, the chair of the Union’s Welfare Committee, “alcohol forms a part of many students’ university experience.”
It was with this in mind that the Welfare Committee challenged three students to keep an alcohol diary of everything they drank over the Easter holiday.
One agreed to forgo all alcohol over the period. Another could drink, but had to stay within the recommended limits. The final volunteer had the arduous task of drinking what they would normally and documenting everything.
The first volunteer, who we shall nickname ‘Sober’ for the purpose of this article, cut down from more than 15 units of alcohol a week to zero. The results were something of a revelation to her.
“At first”, she told me, “I noticed only a few differences compared to a normal week. But towards the second half of the first week I was feeling more awake and had more energy on a morning.
“Instead of getting up at 10.30am (often later), I actually felt wide awake at 9.00am, which meant I had more time during the day to begin working on my essays, or even hitting the shops.” Sober’s newly-productive day-time hours meant the beginning of invitingly-free evenings.
During the second week of the experiment, Sober went on her first completely teetotal night out since she could remember.
“I thought it would be hard to be around my friends when they were drinking alcohol and I was just drinking lemonade, but I didn’t notice a difference.
“Some of my friends followed my lead and stopped drinking early on in the night because they saw I was having fun and spending a lot less money than them.
Sober was able to drive her and her friends there, instead of forking out for a taxi: “my friends paid for my entry to the club and bought my (soft) drinks in return for the lift.”
By the end of the third week, Sober’s reflection on the experiment was distinctly positive.
“I noticed that my concentration during the day had significantly improved, and my energy levels were much higher than a few weeks ago.
“I’ve had three nights out and have enjoyed every one as much as if I’d been drinking alcohol; I’ve also saved around £40-£50 overall.”
But will the experience have lasting impacts on Sober’s drinking habits? Actually, yes.
“This experiment hasn’t converted me to stop drinking alcohol altogether, but it has shown me that I can have fun sober on a night out.
“I’ll definitely be cutting back on my weekly intake now that I know the benefits of not drinking can be achieved without compromising on having a good time.”
The second volunteer’s challenge was slightly more subtle – they were allowed to drink alcohol, but just the two units a day that the government defines as being a healthy amount for a woman to drink.
Within Limits, as she will be known here, began the challenge feeling confident.
“With a dissertation looming, a few weeks with a clear head seemed like a great idea”, she told me.
But the two unit limit soon started to feel restricting.
“For the first weekend of the holidays I went home to visit my family, and with the final England game of the Six Nations and a rugby-loving Dad we went to the pub to watch the game.
“Having had one pint of four per cent pale ale, I had reached two and a half units and couldn’t have another despite finishing my drink before half time.”
Back in Sheffield again in the second week, Within Limits went off to the pub with some course mates after a long day in the IC. This time, the task’s limits prompted her to consider carefully what she drank.
“After one large glass of red wine I was again nearly at my limit for the day. I deliberated a little, then had another small glass. With being over a few hours and having a drink of water in between, drinking a little over my daily limit didn’t seem irresponsible and I made sure I didn’t exceed my 14 units for the week.”
In the final week, Within Limits went on a big night out with her newly-returned housemates.
“A completely sober night out was not something I had looked forward to, but it was actually great fun. Dancing away and having a laugh was the same as every other night out – although seeing some particularly drunk people through sober eyes was a bit of a revelation! The next morning I was able to get going without a hangover battle.”
This sample proves that limiting alcohol intake to a teetotal or vastly reduced level is highly advantageous, which was the exact aim of the diaries, said Natasha Wood.
“We were hoping to highlight the positive benefits of cutting down on alcohol intake, such as increased energy levels, better concentration, improvements to physical appearance and a reduction in the drain on finances.”
The third and final diarist, who will remain nickname-less, drank what they liked for three weeks and is testament to this: they couldn’t be bothered to get their diary in on time.