Campus events and social gathers are great ways to make new friends and memories. Often, alcohol is involved. You can still be social, have fun and make memories while drinking responsibly. Here are some #DrinkSmartTIPS to help you.
5 Tips
Thinking about heading out or meeting up some friends at their place?
These quick tips can help you have a good night out without it going too far.
#1 – Pour or Bring Your Own
Knowing what’s in your dink is important. Pouring your own drinks or ordering singles from the bar will help you.
- Mixing your own drinks helps you know how much and what’s in it
- BYOB to a house party can help you from drinking more than you want to
- Avoid top-ups (you can lose track of how much or what’s in your cup)
- Stay in control of your drink at all times
#2 – Plan
Plan a safe night before you start drinking. Everyone wants to have some fun, but a few simple things can help you:
- Plan who you are going with
- Plan how many or how much you want to drink
- Plan how much you want to spend $$
- Plan for a safe ride home (avoid walking alone, use the Safe Walk program at your campus)
- designated driver (yes, this goes for biking too)
- cab, ride share, or bus
- friends couch
#3 – Eat & Drink Water
Set yourself up before you start drinking. Grabbing that pizza, bowl of pasta and bottle of water will help you in the long haul.
- Eat before and while you are drinking. It will help you from feeling sick later on because the alcohol you consume will be absorbed slower than had you not eaten
- Alcohol dehydrates you. Alternating non-alcoholic drinks (H2O is best) between alcohol drinks will help you stay hydrated (#DYK that nasty hangover pounding headache is a sign of dehydration)
#4 – Count & Pace Yourself
Keeping track of the number of drinks you consume is important. Limit yourself to 1 drink every 60-90 minutes. This can help you pace yourself for a good night.
- If it tastes good, sip it. If it doesn’t, why are you even drinking it?
- Give your body time to digest the alcohol. It needs 60 mins to process a “standard drink” so if you don’t know what that is, plan for 90 mins between each drink
- Know your own limits (every drink and everyone is different)
- Pace yourself by alternating each drink with water
- Avoid playing drinking games
- Stick to your PLAN
#5 – Don’t Mix
Mixing alcohol with anything is just a bad idea. Yes that includes energy drinks, cannabis, caffeine, medication, and illegal drugs.
- Cannabis affects everyone differently and will have different levels of impairment depending on the type and amount and how it is consumed
- It is illegal for a bartender to mix alcohol with an energy drink
- Caffeine is an upper and alcohol is a downer
- Alcohol can change how the medication (prescription or over the counter) reacts in your body
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