Be nice to Brain.

Drink less.

The less you drink, the better you feel.

Alcohol is a depressant drug, which slows down signals between the brain and body and can impact your mental health and wellbeing. 

Cutting back or cutting out drinking can improve your mood, energy and sleep and reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. 

Many things can affect your mental health and wellbeing – alcohol is one factor. 

The link between alcohol and mental health is complex. How alcohol affects mental health varies from person to person. 
 
It can involve how your body responds to alcohol as well as social changes caused by drinking. Some people are more likely to develop mental health concerns, such as anxiety or depression, or problems with alcohol.

Drinking alcohol affects the way we feel by changing the balance of chemicals in our brain.  

Alcohol can upset our sleep cycle, meaning we don’t have the deep sleep our body and brain needs to recharge and renew. 

Over time, drinking alcohol can make existing mental health concerns worse. For some people, it can lead to conditions such as depression or anxiety. 

Drinking less alcohol or not drinking at all can have a positive impact on your health and wellbeing.  

The Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol aim to reduce the risk of disease or injury caused by alcoholThe guidelines, developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council advise that: 

  • Healthy men and women who drink alcohol should have no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day and no more than 10 standard drinks a week. 

The less you alcohol you drink, the better you can feel. 

Learn more about making a change