Your Heavy Work Out Might Result To Heavy Drinking Too

Do you motivate yourself at the gym with thoughts of hitting the nearest bar as a reward? A new study says that it happens a lot and you might want to watch out for it.

The Huffington Post reports that people who exercise on any given day are more likely to drink alcohol after. In fact, those who had intense workouts are prone to consume more alcohol later that day.

For the study, researchers at Pennsylvania State University tracked the daily workouts and alcohol consumption of 150 men and women from age 19 to 89 through a smartphone app for three 21-day periods within one year.

According to results, the positive correlation between exercise and alcohol consumption remained consistent over the course of one year regardless of gender and age. Further, those who engaged in heavy physical activities drank more alcohol than those who did light exercises.

Although they really didn't get that drunk, researchers concluded that "people drank more than usual on the same days that they engaged in more physical activity than usual."

According to the study's lead author J. Leigh Leasure, an associate professor and behavioral neuroscience lab director at the University of Houston, the "buzz" we get from working out is similar to the "buzz" we get from alcohol. Feeling that post-workout "buzz", she said, tends to make people ask for more and end up drinking in a bar.

While that explains why people exercise and drink, alcohol consumption is still not encouraged for people who try to get or stay in shape since it impairs the body's fat burning process and muscle growth.

"Exercise provides a wealth of benefits to brain and body, and is regarded as a protective factor against disease," the researchers wrote. "In contrast to exercise, alcohol consumption is not typically regarded as a health-promoting behavior."

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