Ever finish a workout and have the urge to go out and grab a beer? Well a new study shows there may be a reason behind that feeling.
A new study published by Northwestern Medicine shows that people tend to drink more alcohol on the days they exercise. The study surveyed 150 adults between the ages of 18-89, who use a smartphone app to record their daily workouts, and how much alcohol they drank for three weeks during different points of the year. The strongest link they found was between the exercise days and the number of drinks a person had, with the most beer being the most popular post-workout beverage.
The study also showed that both drinking and working out increased on Thursday-Sunday, which isn't exactly a revelation, but still interesting to notice. Scientists aren't exactly sure why the link between working out and drinking is so strong but they offered up some theories.
“It could be that people who are more physically active on a given day have to use all their willpower and cognitive resources to get themselves to be active, and they don’t have enough willpower left to resist the temptation of a drink at the end of the day,” says David E. Conroy, lead study author and professor of preventive medicine and deputy director of the Center for Behavior and Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Our personal opinion is that people just want to be rewarded for their time at the gym, and for most people that means having a nice, relaxing drink. Be careful though, because scientists have also concluded that drinking too much could negate the good that exercising does, and even impair muscle recovery. Take the study how you will, just try to think about it the next time your leaving the gym and want a beer. Everything is better in moderation.
[Time]
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