Hangovers negatively affect your athletic performance during training and when competing.
To perform at your best, avoid alcohol for about 48 hours before a sporting activity.
If you drink in this period:
- keep it to 1 or 2 drinks
- drink lots of water to help keep you hydrated
Effects of alcohol on performance
Drinking alcohol before training or competing can affect your:
- endurance levels (ability to keep going)
- aerobic performance
- reaction times
- muscle recovery
- hydration
- temperature regulation
Endurance
Your body needs blood sugar (glucose) for energy. Your liver supplies this energy by releasing glucose into the bloodstream.
When you drink alcohol, your liver processes the alcohol. It temporarily stops producing glucose. This means your blood glucose can drop significantly.
The alcohol also affects how you absorb nutrients such as:
- zinc - helps your body release energy from food
- vitamins B1 and B12 - help regulate and move oxygen around the body
Alcohol can affect the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is the energy source for your muscles.
If there's less energy available for muscles, it can affect your sports performance and endurance.
Reduced aerobic performance
Your aerobic performance is your ability to use oxygen during physical activity to produce energy.
Alcohol affects your aerobic performance by:
- reducing your body's ability to turn food into energy
- lowering your stores of carbohydrates and blood glucose, which are important for energy
- causing dehydration, which makes it harder to perform well
- leading to a build-up of lactate (substance produced when you exercise), and less efficient use of energy
Because of these effects, you are less likely to perform at your best. And you may get tired more quickly.
Slower reactions
Alcohol is a sedative. Sedatives slow down brain activity. This can affect your sports performance for up to 72 hours after you finish drinking.
Drinking alcohol means poorer hand-eye coordination and slower responses.
Less sleep and slower muscle recovery
Getting a good night’s sleep is important for sports performance. Alcohol reduces the amount of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This means you may wake up feeling drowsy and low in energy the next day.
Low-quality sleep can also reduce the amount of human growth hormone (HGH) in your body. HGH is part of normal muscle-building and repair processes. Recovery may be slower.
Alcohol can also reduce testosterone. You need this for muscle development and recovery.
Tips and self-help for better sleep
Muscle cramps
During exercise, your muscles burn glucose (sugar) and produce lactate.
Drinking alcohol before a sports event can contribute to lactate build-up and muscle fatigue.
Alcohol can also make you dehydrated, which can cause your muscles to cramp.
It can affect your electrolyte balance. Lower levels of the electrolytes sodium and potassium can lead to muscle cramps.
Injuries and complications
Alcohol makes the recovery period for injuries longer. It increases bleeding and swelling around soft tissue injuries.
Soft tissue injuries include:
- sprains
- bruises
- cuts
- muscle injury
Alcohol also masks pain. This means you may delay getting treatment.
Getting treatment quickly can help speed up recovery.
If you cannot feel the pain of a muscle injury, you are less likely to take care of it. This will slow your recovery or even cause further damage.
Avoid alcohol if you have an injury. It will complicate your recovery.
Heavy or long-term use of alcohol can also reduce the production of the hormone testosterone. You need this for muscle development and recovery.
Heat loss
Alcohol is a vasodilator. This means it causes blood vessels to expand, leading to heat loss and a lower body temperature. This can cause decreased muscle function and poorer performance.
Dehydration
Alcohol is a diuretic. It causes you to pee more. It does this by reducing the production of the antidiuretic hormone in the body.
Dehydration can negatively affect your endurance and strength.
Vitamin and mineral depletion
Water loss from drinking alcohol also means the loss of important minerals such as:
- magnesium
- potassium
- calcium
- zinc
These help maintain nerve and muscle action and coordination.
Long-term effects of alcohol on sports performance
In the longer term, heavy drinking or binge drinking can affect your overall sports performance.
It puts you more at risk of problems with:
- metabolism
- muscle development
- long-term injuries
- blood pressure and heart
Non-urgent advice: Get help with problem alcohol use
For confidential advice, freephone 1800 459 459.