The effects of alcohol on recovery from training

 

In this blog, we will still follow the recovery theme and look at the effect of alcohol on recovery from training.  Alcohol plays a big part in our lives, people use it for 4 reasons, drink to cope, drink to be sociable, drink to enhance social confidence, and drink for enjoyment. (Smith, Abbey and Scott, 1993).

There are a lot of athletes who also drink alcohol to relax after training or competing, this can be seen as a drinking culture such as in rugby clubs, soccer clubs or even after-show parties at MMA or boxing events and has been shown to prominent in team sports compared to individual athletes. (Brenner and Swanik, 2007).

So, let’s look and see how alcohol can affect or recovery from training:

• Alcohol impairs post-exercise muscle protein synthesis. Having alcohol and protein after training reduced the anabolic response by -24% compared to taking protein on its own. Alcohol and carbs reduced the response by -37% compared to consuming protein on its own. So maybe it’s not a great idea to train hard and then head straight out for a meal with a bottle of wine or a few beers. (Parr et al., 2014).
• Alcohol dampens the desired muscular adaptations to resistance exercise.
• Alcohol has a diuretic effect if it’s >4%.
• It can compromise your immune system and raises your susceptibility to illness and recovery. (Dunne, 1989), Although moderate alcohol has been shown beneficial (Romeo et al., 2007), so more research is needed to see if the benefits out way the negatives.
• It lowers protein synthesis and adaptations to strenuous exercise.
• It affects sleep quality and quantity. (Stein and Friedmann, 2006).
• It lowers cognitive performance and reaction times. (Christoforou, Karlaftis and Yannis, 2013)
• It can affect bone density by lowering testosterone levels. (BADR, BARTKE, DALTERIO and BULGER, 1977)
• Along with a high carb diet, it has no impact on post-exercise glycogen storage.
• It can raise the severity of an injury and negatively impact the rate and outcome of recovery.

In a study done with rugby league players in Australia, the players were tested both 16hrs after the match having consumed alcohol 4hrs after the game. The results showed a large drop in the countermovement jump test, increased cortisol, and a decline in total time to perform a cognitive test. The researchers suggest that players should be aware of the detrimental effect alcohol has on recovery and should try to avoid it post-match. (Murphy et al., 2013).

However, after reading all the doom and gloom of alcohol and recovery, there is a bit of good news. A moderate beer after training was shown to have no negative effect on hydration when consumed along with water. (Jiménez-Pavón et al., 2015).

 

References

BADR, F., BARTKE, A., DALTERIO, S. and BULGER, W., 1977. Suppression of testosterone production by ethyl alcohol. Possible mode of action. Steroids, 30(5), pp.647-655.

Brenner, J. and Swanik, K., 2007. High-Risk Drinking Characteristics in Collegiate Athletes. Journal of American College Health, 56(3), pp.267-272.

Christoforou, Z., Karlaftis, M. and Yannis, G., 2013. Reaction times of young alcohol-impaired drivers. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 61, pp.54-62.

Dunne, F., 1989. Alcohol and the immune system. BMJ, 298(6673), pp.543-544.

George, D., Umhau, J., Phillips, M., Emmela, D., Ragan, P., Shoaf, S. and Rawlings, R., 2001. Serotonin, testosterone and alcohol in the etiology of domestic violence. Psychiatry Research, 104(1), pp.27-37.

Jiménez-Pavón, D., Cervantes-Borunda, M., Díaz, L., Marcos, A. and Castillo, M., 2015. Effects of a moderate intake of beer on markers of hydration after exercise in the heat: a crossover study. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12(1).

Murphy, A., Snape, A., Minett, G., Skein, M. and Duffield, R., 2013. The Effect of Post-Match Alcohol Ingestion on Recovery From Competitive Rugby League Matches. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 27(5), pp.1304-1312.

Parr, E., Camera, D., Areta, J., Burke, L., Phillips, S., Hawley, J. and Coffey, V., 2014. Alcohol Ingestion Impairs Maximal Post-Exercise Rates of Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis following a Single Bout of Concurrent Training. PLoS ONE, 9(2), p.e88384.

Romeo, J., Wärnberg, J., Nova, E., Díaz, L., Gómez-Martinez, S. and Marcos, A., 2007. Moderate alcohol consumption and the immune system: A review. British Journal of Nutrition, 98(S1), pp.S111-S115.

Romeo, J., Wärnberg, J., Nova, E., Díaz, L., Gómez-Martinez, S. and Marcos, A., 2007. Moderate alcohol consumption and the immune system: A review. British Journal of Nutrition, 98(S1), pp.S111-S115.

Smith, M., Abbey, A. and Scott, R., 1993. Reasons for Drinking Alcohol: Their Relationship to Psychosocial Variables and Alcohol Consumption. International Journal of the Addictions, 28(9), pp.881-908.

Stein, M. and Friedmann, P., 2006. Disturbed Sleep and Its Relationship to Alcohol Use. Substance Abuse, 26(1), pp.1-13.