Knowing how big an impact alcohol can have on your gut, brain and everything in-between can make the decision to cut down on drinking an easy one. But actually doing it? That’s where things get a little trickier.

When you’re used to drinking on nights out with friends or enjoying a glass of wine after work, forcing yourself to quit cold turkey can be unsustainable. You want to cut down in a way that’ll help you change your habits and not make you feel like you’re punishing yourself – and that’s where mindful drinking comes in.

An approach to drinking which requires you to be intentional with your decisions around alcohol, mindful drinking is all about making the right choice for you, as opposed to getting swept along with the crowd. 

Because of this, mindful drinking techniques tend to leave space for you to think about why you’re craving alcohol or the impact your consumption might have on how you feel, and to take this into account when deciding when and how you want to drink.

To help you on your way, we’ve rounded up some of the best mindful drinking techniques to help you reassess your relationship with alcohol.  

It may sound simple, but deciding how many drinks you’re going to have before the night starts gives you something to think about as time goes on.

For a goal to be achievable, it needs to be specific – so while ‘drink less’ might sound like an admirable goal, it’s not easily tracked or defined. Saying you’re only allowed to have two drinks – or that you’re going to stop drinking after 10pm – makes taking action that little bit easier. 

The 20-minute rule is what it says on the tin – a rule whereby you wait 20 minutes after craving or finishing a drink before you order or pour the next one.

The idea is that 20 minutes is long enough for you to reassess whether you want or need a drink and make a conscious decision, as opposed to acting on impulse. Check out our guide to learn more about putting it into practice. 

Challenges like Dry January are a great way to give yourself a solid break from the effects of drinking – but the restriction involved with quitting alcohol for a month can make it easy to fall hard into old habits once February arrives.

If you often struggle with this kind of ‘rebound’, trying regular microbreaks could be the way forward. This tip, which originated on the popular subreddit r/LifeProTips, requires you to give up alcohol one week every month for a whole year.  

At the end of 12 months, you’ll have been sober for a whopping three months of the year – and be able to reap the benefits that come from giving your body a regular break. Find out more about the benefits by reading our article.  

We all know how pushy people can get when they’ve had a few, so feeling comfortable to assert your boundaries around alcohol is important when you’re trying to be more mindful about your consumption.

As psychiatrist Dr David McLaughlan previously told Stylist: “In my clinic at the Priory Hospital, we teach drink refusal skills for these kinds of situations to help us maintain our drink boundaries. You’re much more likely to maintain your drink boundaries if you practise these skills and have a few stock responses up your sleeve.” 

The types of refusals you can use include being diplomatic (such as saying something like ‘I’ll have a drink with you next time we’re out’) or educational (such as explaining some of the benefits you get from not drinking).

For more information on practising these techniques, check out Dr McLaughlan’s guide to setting boundaries around booze.  

If you’re someone who regularly enjoys a glass or two of wine after work, splitting your week into ‘alcohol’ and ‘non-alcohol’ days could be a great way to reap the benefits of not drinking while still enjoying the odd tipple.

This tip, from psychotherapist, author and speaker Anna Mathur, simply involves picking one or two days a week where you’re going to drink alcohol and leaving the rest completely alcohol-free. On the days when you drink alcohol, you don’t have to go crazy – it’s just an opportunity to drink if you fancy it. Then, on the non-alcohol days, you simply stay away from alcohol altogether.

While having one small glass of wine every evening may not seem like a bad habit, drinking in this way means you’re constantly being affected by the impact of alcohol on your sleep and overall health. 

Sticking to specific days keeps these effects limited to just one or two days a week, so you can reap the benefits of being sober while still enjoying alcohol on the days you’ve set aside. 

Make resisting temptation that little bit easier by going to a venue which only serves low and no-alcohol drinks. That way, you get the feeling of a night out without the option to drink – and you can save the ‘regular’ bars for special nights.

You can check out our guide to the best ones in London to get you started. 

Drinking a glass of water for every alcoholic drink you have is a technique as old as time itself, but that’s probably because it’s so effective.

Not only does it make sure you stay hydrated (which is important for avoiding some of the side effects of drinking alcohol), but it’ll also slow down your alcohol consumption, reducing the amount you consume over the course of the night as a result.

If a glass of water feels a little boring, you could even just alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks – with the latter being a low-alcohol beer or cocktail. It’s all about mixing things up rather than falling into the trap of impulse ordering. 

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