Does Alcohol Impact Athletic Performance?
You’ve probably been handed a beer as a congratulatory drink after a race or gone out to happy hour after a training session. Alcohol is as embedded into performance culture as it is in military culture, so when the two combine, alcohol might be part of your identity. When you’re working to be the healthiest version of yourself, what role does alcohol have in that, and can it keep you from making performance gains?
Understanding Alcohol Guidelines
If you don’t drink alcohol, there’s no need to start, but if you do, moderate drinking to maintain optimal health is defined as no more than one drink for women per day and two drinks for men. So, if we should limit our daily alcohol for health, but we’re also okay with it as a recovery beverage after a 10K, then maybe the lines are blurry when it comes to alcohol and performance. Let’s break it down.
4 Key Ways Alcohol Affects Athletic Performance
Research is constantly shifting on the role of alcohol and health—is a glass of red wine good for your heart? Doesn’t beer support a healthy gut? There are three spectrums of study when it comes to alcohol:
No alcohol
Moderate alcohol consumption (as defined above)
Excessive alcohol use or Alcohol Use Disorder
Obviously, #1 will not have an impact on performance, and #2 will depend on when the alcohol is being consumed (before or after activity) and measures of performance (strength, speed, agility, etc.); however, when you dip your toes into the water past #2 and on your way to #3, it can impact your health and your performance. Even with going slightly over the daily recommendations, here’s how alcohol may affect performance.
Sleep Quality and Athletic Recovery
Even if you’re not drinking right before you go to bed, the effects of alcohol may linger and impact sleep. Alcohol is considered a sedative and, as such, can help you fall asleep quicker. However, alcohol is also the cause of sleep disturbances, such as reduced REM sleep, waking up during the night, and getting out of bed to use the bathroom.
Sleep plays a vital role in performance, cognitive functions, and everyday tasks. Productive, quality sleep is necessary for training, recovery, athletic performance in competition, and for good mental health.
Hydration Status and Exercise
Alcohol suppresses anti-diuretic hormone (ADH). ADH is typically secreted to conserve water in the body, but alcohol releases fluid—you might know this phenomenon as “breaking the seal.” Often thought to increase headaches in the morning after a night of a few too many, the diuretic effect of alcohol can have an impact on training and competitive performance.
With moderate drinking, the diuretic impact of alcohol is not significant; however, if you’re already in a dehydrated state when you drink, you increase your fluid deficit. That could mean problems for training, especially if you live in a hot or humid environment or train intensely. From a nutrition standpoint, more urine output could also mean an additional loss of sodium (a critical electrolyte) and water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and B vitamins, like folate and thiamine.
Muscle Recovery and Growth
Research is emerging on the impact of alcohol on muscle protein synthesis (MPS). MPS is the entire metabolic process of building new muscle. Alcohol consumption has been found to impair the pathways that create new muscle. There is enough evidence to show that heavy drinking damages muscle, but there is less evidence that this happens when sticking with moderate drinking recommendations.
It's not just muscle growth that you may have to worry about with alcohol consumption, but glycogen storage. Glycogen is a form of carbohydrate that is stored in the muscle and liver. Glycogen is essential for energy during endurance exercise and must be refilled after exercise. It’s possible that alcohol could interfere with glycogen synthesis, but it also seems to be offset by adequate carbohydrates after a heavy training session or competition. It’s important to note that sufficient carbohydrates after training are also necessary for MPS, so the impact of alcohol on recovery may be two-fold.
Performance and Safety Risks
Alcohol, when consumed before a training session or competition, has the potential to cause injury from decreased coordination, reduced reaction time, and impaired balance.
Even moderate alcohol use can displace essential nutrients in your diet. If you are skipping meals to compensate for the calories in alcohol, then you might be missing out on proper nutrition, which can impact performance in the short- and long-term.
Evidence Based Guidelines for Athletes
If you don’t drink alcohol, there are no performance benefits to starting. Enjoying a drink or two or three may cause some performance shifts for many reasons. If you aren’t seeing the performance gains you want, or they have slowed down, take an objective look at your alcohol intake and see if you can make any changes to either reduce or abstain. The effects of alcohol vary from person to person, and ultimately, an occasional drink will not derail your efforts. Still, when you’re putting in the time with training, good nutrition, sleep, and hydration, alcohol should be something you’re thinking about.
Want to level up your nutrition game?
Join the Nutrition Group in the Team RWB app to connect with service members from all branches and eras. They share recipes, tips, and information. They also provide support as you work to achieve your fitness goals.
Sarah Pflugradt is a registered dietitian with a specialization in human performance. She is an Air Force vet, a military spouse, and a health promotion professor at American University in Washington D.C. She spends her free time cooking, writing, and watching her 3 kids compete in sports.
