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I went on holiday and drank red wine every day. This is what happened.

I went on holiday and drank red wine every day. This is what happened.

Ever wondered about the impact of holidays and alcohol on your body are? Especially over 50? Probably not.

But for those with a morbid curiosity, here is what happened.

I went to the snow (Perisher) arriving 14th of July and departing on the 21st of July. I was on the snow every day from 15th - 20th July, just as background.

As much as I tried, I fell amongst thieves and drank copious amounts of red wine every night, with 2-3 beers on 2 nights, being 23 and 24th July on top of the red wine. Don't judge, many of us have been there.

I wore my Garmin Fenix smartwatch 24H a day, to measure the following:

  • heart rate,
  • sleep time and quality,
  • body battery,
  • calculate my HRV (Heart rate variability),
  • and calories burnt dailly.

Wine intake

All red wine, but lighter varietals including Rioja, Chianti, and Australian Shiraz. In total about 6 bottles, all in the name of science. This was easier than you think, and at no time was there bad alcohol-related behavior. Just saying. 

An average bottle of wine has around 600 calories, so 3,600 calories of wine was consumed excluding the beer.

Food intake

Relatively sensible. Cooked meals morning and evening with limited portion sizes. No junk food, and a protein bar for lunch. Weight was the same at the end of the week.

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Calories burnt

I was active every day, walking, skiing, not slouching around. Total calories burnt from Monday 15th to Sat 20th was 6,500 (active) calories out of a total of 22,471 calories, so 29% odd.

Compared to a normal week of my life these active calories were not far off the norm as you can see below. The carefully drawn technical timeline above shows the timeframe above.

Calories burnt graph

OK, so here was the impact:

BODY BATTERY (Personal energy level)
As calculated by Garmin, my body battery went from an average of 47.5 on the Sunday through to an average of 23 by Thursday and was 18 by Friday.
Body battery is powered by Firstbeat analytics and gives an idea of personal energy resource. It is based on physical activity, stress, rest. and sleep.
My body battery reached an all-week low of 5 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. (For reference my body battery average during a normal week would be over 65 with lows of around 20 odd). I have no idea what happens if it gets to 0 and decided to not try and find out.
On average my body battery dropped 70%.

OK, so what happened?

STRESS?
This was a surprise. I had a great week with my son and good friends, thus the wine consumption. So, a symptom of something else? 
Stress score 4 weeks
SLEEP?
Sleep score is a blend of how long you slept, how well you slept, and the evidence of recovery activity occurring in your autonomic nervous system from HRV data (See below).
My sleep score is usually well above 80, it dropped below 60 on 4 of the nights away and was mid-sixties to low seventies on the others. Despite being active during the day and eating relatively well, (I put on no weight this week), sleep was dire, and I felt it. 
Mainly this felt like disrupted sleep. Also, interesting to note, on the 16th and 20th of July, which was better sleep, I used electrolytes to help support my hydration.
In the graph below you can also see HRV mapped against sleep.

 

Sleep Score on holidays

 

HRV - HEART RATE VARIABILITY

HRV or heart rate variability according to Garmin is "a physiological phenomenon that can be recorded, analysed, and interpreted, to better understand how your body is navigating the challenges of life and its environment.
Specifically, HRV refers to the ever-changing length of time between consecutive heartbeats". From the day I arrived and started on the wine, it only took 2 days to go to "UNBALANCED" and then "LOW". 
What do these terms mean?
  • Unbalanced means it has dropped out of the previous 7-day average baseline, to be expected.
  • Low means elevated sympathetic activity within your autonomic nervous system, an indication of stress or fight-or-flight response. Ongoing low HRV can indicate current or future health issues. 

Read more in HRV here. Note mine was calculated using a Garmin watch.

OK, so my point is.

  1. Wine affected my sleep
  2. Sleep impacted my energy levels
  3. Tiredness impacted my mood and capability
  4. Electrolytes I felt helped on days I used
  5. Skiing when tired is fraught with danger.

I did use our Fitter Stronger Pack so got a daily dose of protein and essential vitamins & minerals. I had no body or muscle soreness, and while the above usually runs down the immune system, I was in a lodge with sniffling kids and didn't get sick..

I also managed to keep going wth a lot of "younger" men, every day.

    In Summary

    These weekends, or weeks impact energy levels in the short term, driven primarily by poor sleep, and longer term will affect health. 

    But the connections and relationships built and maintained with good friends are critical to mental health. 

    So, my learnings are:

    1. Avoid high-fat, processed foods. Sensible food choices and portions. You will feel the difference and it can help energy levels.
    2. If you can't limit your alcohol intake, switch to water an hour or so before going to bed. By then no one will notice or care anyway. Probably find you aren't the only one.
    3. Make sure your bedroom temperature is cooler rather than warmer. Open the window if you can.
    4. Hydrate during the day, and before bed with a quality electrolyte.
    5. When you arrive, put water next to the bed, along with some Panadol and Rennies available in case. By the 3rd night. you will thank me.

    Enjoy the time away. If you feel excessive drinking is a problem for you, get some help or advice. Try an alcohol-free beer or wine. You will feel the difference in your sleep, well-being, vitality, relationships and capability.

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