Alcohol and your running performance

Running is a popular sport. It's also so affordable. You put on your running shoes and close the door behind you. Before you know it you are a few kilometers away. Not now, of course, but if you also enjoy a glass of wine or beer, it is good to know how alcohol affects your running performance.

Let's start by saying that alcohol is never good for your body. So not for your running performance either.

Rest and recovery

After a major sporting effort, your body needs time to recover. It does this by resting and especially by sleeping. When you have drunk before or after your running performance, this affects your sleep cycle. Alcohol causes the first deep sleep (REM sleep) to be brought forward. This means that you dream earlier and the brain has to process all the information and impressions of that day faster. The second part of the night, REM sleep occurs much later, overloading the brain. Because deep sleep does not take place proportionally, sleep problems occur. Such as sleepwalking, talking in your sleep and sleep apnea. In addition, there is an increased risk of intense dreams or nightmares.

The production of growth hormones is also inhibited. If this happens more often, you will recover less quickly from your training sessions and you may be injured more quickly.

At half power

As an athlete and therefore also as a runner you need glycogen. Glycogen is converted to glucose for rapid use by the muscle cells. This energy your body needs to perform. If you drink alcohol before running, your liver gives priority to the breakdown of the alcohol, which disrupts the metabolism. The result: low blood sugar, less energy. And that is noticeable in your sports performance.

Walking with a hangover?

Some swear by a run if they drank too much the night before. A nice sweat and then the hangover is gone. But it (unfortunately) doesn't work that way. Every glass of alcohol you drink has to be broken down by the liver and that takes about 1 to 1.5 hours per glass. You should even pay extra attention to your fluid intake if you go running with a hangover. You lose extra moisture through sweating, something your hungover body needs to recover.

Source: runnersworld.nl.