How to curb your wine o’clock habit

For millions of people there’s no better stress reliever than uncorking a bottle of wine at the end of a busy day while dinner bubbles away on the hob.

But experts now warn that we must call time on wine o’ clock after alarming figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that it has begun to take a deadly toll.

Alcohol- related deaths among women aged 60-64 have shot up by more than a third since 2001 and have also risen by 25 per cent in men of the same age.

These figures don’t include deaths caused by diseases such as hepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver, to which alcohol is a major contributor.

Dr Niall Campbell, who is an alcohol addiction specialist, says: “More older women than ever are drinking. Sometimes they are self-medicating with alcohol for stress – from looking after ageing parents to debt-ridden adult children who have returned home – while all the time holding down an exhausting job.”

Still we live in a booze-centric society where it’s now as common to be offered a tipple in hair salons as it is at a party.

Cutting down may not be straightforward but it will bring noticeable benefits to your mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Here we have rounded up some of the best tips from the experts for curbing wine o’clock.

Track your units

The Government advises that for both men and women it’s safest not to regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week and that these should be spread over seven days not “saved ” for one blow out.

That’s equivalent to six pints of average strength lager (4 per cent ABV), or six 175ml glasses of wine (12 per cent ABV).

There are 10 units alone in a 750ml bottle of wine (13.5 per cent ABV).

To track your drinking visit drinkaware.co.uk and use the online unit calculator or download the free Drinkaware: Track and Calculate Units app.

Take a break from booze

Laura Willoughby is co-founder of the so-called mindful drinking movement Club Soda (joinclubsoda.co.uk) and recommends a one -month break from booze.

“We call this a ‘hard reset’ which enables you to learn a lot about yourself and the triggers for why and when you drink when you don’t really need to such as for stress relief,” she says.

Other triggers can be as simple as time and place, such as associating getting home from work and grabbing a beer to unwind. 

Create new habits

Laura says: “Women’s number one coping mechanism is alcohol whether we’re stressed about work, retirement, kids, grandkids or juggling everything.

“Once you can see this fi nd new ways to treat yourself or destress so that you can swap wine o’clock for something else.

“This could be a new favourite soft tipple such as alcohol-free wine or beer . Or instead of opening a bottle go for a brisk walk, do some exercise, call a friend, watch a box set or do some cooking.” 

Get your partner on board with you

How many times have you fi lled your partner’s wine glass without asking or maybe they regularly have a large glass of red waiting for you when you get home?

Health psychologist Martin Hagger says: “If you’re going to cut down on drinking there’s less likely to be friction or resistance if you decide to do it together.”

Ben Butler, of alcohol education charity Drinkaware, adds: “Chat about situations when you would both drink more than the low-risk unit guidelines and what you can do instead.

“If you always get through a bottle of wine when you have your weekly takeaway, agree to avoid the off-licence on the way home from work.

“Or if you tend to have a glass of wine with every evening meal, vow to save it for a special candle-lit dinner and bring home non-alcoholic treats such as chocolate instead.” 

Make it a smaller one

A study from the University of Cambridge in 2016 found that people were more likely to order additional glasses of wine at a bar when they were presented with a large glass(370ml) instead of a standard 300ml glass.

Dr Rachel Pechey, from the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at Cambridge, says: “We found that increasing the size of wine glasses even without increasing the amount of wine leads people to drink more.

It’s not obvious why this should be the case but it may be that larger glasses change our perceptions of the amount of wine, leading us to order more.”

Professor Theresa Marteau, director of the unit, adds: “This suggests that avoiding the use of larger wine glasses could reduce the amount that people drink.”

So opt for a small glass of wine instead of a large one or try bottled beer instead of pints. 

Leave the party early

Laura Willoughby explains that many of Club Soda’s 50 and 60-something members admit they drink to make a boring social occasion more bearable.

“My response is always, that if you’re using alcohol to alleviate boredom, leave the boring place.

“Or if you have no choice but to go, drive there [so you can’t drink]. Similarly if you’re using alcohol to cope with stress or anxiety tackle the causes instead of pushing them to one side with a few glasses of wine.” 

Create rules

Simply telling yourself that you’re going to moderate your drinking won’t work. There have to be clear rules.

“Decide that you will only drink on Friday and Saturday nights or that you’ll switch from a bottle of wine to single gins with lots of tonic,” Laura suggests.

“If you’re going out have a rule that your fi rst two drinks will be non-alcoholic.

“Stick to your rules. Don’t vow not to drink during the week and then waver if a friend comes over on a Monday night. Try to achieve fi ve alcohol-free days a week.” 

Focus on the benefits

Ben Butler says that concentrating on how you feel without wine o’clock will encourage you to stick with less booze.

“Alcohol is a depressant and its overall effect is to suppress the hormones that make you feel happy.

“So without it you will find yourself feeling brighter and generally healthier and more energetic.”