One of the highlights of the summer, is being able to have fun with your friends during the day. Whether it be brewery hopping, time spent on the lake, or a holiday celebration— whatever your reason may be this weekend, day drinking becomes much more common when you’re in an environment that’s built for it. However, one of the more difficult things about day drinking is that the sun is out, it’s easy to get dehydrated, and not to mention— you have the rest of the day to make it through. So, when it comes to day drinking, you need to be smart about it. By doing so, you’ll save yourself a headache, and a wasted afternoon (no pun intended) spent sleeping off your buzz.
Day Drinking: How to have Fun, and Drink Smart
Day drinking is about longevity
The most important thing to remember about day drinking, is that you want to be able to have a day afterwards. Not to mention, you probably plan on driving home afterwards. So, you want to go at this with the right mindset: avoid a nasty hangover, stay hydrated, and please please put on some sunscreen if you’ll be outside all day. It’s easy to forget about those last two when you’re drinking and carrying on. But, regardless of popular belief, you can have fun but make staying hydrated a priority.
Avoid high alcohol content
One of the absolute smartest things you can do when day drinking, is to avoid high alcohol content beverages. For example, when your friend says let’s take a shot!!!! Do not take a shot. Keep your drinking restricted to light beers, white wine, or even one of those new sparked seltzers. The key here is to not overdo it, and just have fun. Introducing liquor into the mix isn’t necessarily the smartest idea.
Keep count of your beverages
Knowing how much you’ve had to drink is essential to making sure you don’t overdo it. So, keep a tally. If you need to, save bottle caps, tabs, or make a mark somewhere. The smartest thing you can do is make sure you know how much you’ve had within a certain period of time. By doing so, you can make sure you’re drinking enough water and slowing down at the appropriate time.
Get some shade
Alcohol+ a lack of water+ and a lot of sunshine= dehydration. The key to day drinking is staying hydrated, and while that absolutely means drinking water, it also means getting a little bit of shade every now and then. The heat and the sun beating down on you can leads to headaches, hangovers, and sunburns. So, if you can, go inside or into the shade for a little while every now and then. Cooling off and having a glass of water can do wonders for you in the long run.
Water, Water, Water
We’ve mentioned this quite a bit during the article, but that’s because it is the most important component of healthy day drinking. Stay hydrated, keep bottles of water in the cooler, and drink one every one or two beers. This is not excessive, it is safe. You’re combatting dehydration, but also helping your body process that alcohol. If there is any one piece of advice you take away, let it be this: drink water with your alcohol.
Day drinking can be a ton of fun, and a great way to take advantage of that summer weather. But, it’s important that you do so responsibly. By taking care of your body, and keeping it hydrated, your body will reward you by keeping that (typically) inevitable headache at bay. So, have fun, drink smart, and beat the heat with a combo of good friends, good beers, and a bottle of water. Cheers!
