Thirsty Thursday: On Days We Exercise More, We Drink More, Science Says


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If the thought of chugging an ice-cold beer (or six) is the only thing that gets you through a grueling CrossFit class, you are not alone: A new study published in Health Psychology found that people tend to drink more on days when they exercise more, Science of Us reports.

Here’s how the study worked: Researchers at Northwestern University asked 150 people between the ages of 18 and 89 to keep track of how much they exercised and how much alcohol they drank in a daily diary. The participants recorded their physical activity and drinking for three 21-day stretches over the course of a year. In the end, researchers found that everyone, regardless of age or fitness level, tended to exercise more Thursday through Sunday, and they also tended to drink more on the days they upped their physical activity.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Duh. Obviously people drink more on the weekends, and it’s not called Thirsty Thursday for nothin’. But as study author David E. Conroy told Science of Us, the researchers “adjusted for the day of the week, so any associations between physical activity and alcohol consumption could not be attributed to the fact that it was, for example, a Saturday.”

One thing the researchers didn’t get into is why exercise drives us to drink, but if the study participants’ minds work anything like mine, it’s because we’re all giving ourselves a big pat on the back after an exhausting long run and proudly declaring, “I’m going to drink all the beer, because I deserve it!” Right?

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