It is possible that you have never heard of the term "healthonism", as it was only used in 2015.If you've heard of 10k races where the runners take wine breaks along the way, or yoga classes being held in craft breweries before tasting parties, you have a notion of the concept.Healthonism more generally refers to a desire among a growing number of young adults to mix health consciousness with hedonistic desires, but it more specifically speaks to the mixing of exercise and alcohol consumption.Maybe healthonism will end up being just another fad, but it turns out that the odd couple of exercise and alcohol has a basis in science.
Step 1: Combine health and hedonism.
Healthonism is a combination of sounds and concepts from two other words.Creating new words in this way in order to identify new trends seems to be all the rage, and the seemingly growing trend of combining healthy activities with social drinking has joined the club.Hedonism is a belief system that emphasizes personal pleasure.Typically, you don't think of a hedonist being concerned with exercise routines or diabetes risk factors, so healthonism appears to refer to a trend with elements that come from opposite ends of the spectrum.
Step 2: Understand the phenomenon
Healthonism was included in the Future 100 list by J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, which sees it as being driven by the younger generation.The definition of a "millennial" is up for debate, but it refers to people between the ages of 18 and 35 as of 2015.Healthonism seems to derive from the growing awareness of the importance of health-conscious living and the eternal desire of young people in particular to throw caution to the wind and live for today.It's a modern spin on the old idea of "work hard, play hard", be responsible enough of the time that you can be a bit irresponsible.
Step 3: There are examples of healthonism.
Beer runs can be found near a college campus or wine-tasting 10k races.It's associated with events at nightclubs, breweries, or other establishments where special events that combine planned exercise and party elements can occur.A club might hold an event with an hour-long yoga session, followed by a drink-tasting event and dancing.To add a bit more to the health side of things, the alcohol may focus on seemingly healthier mixers that use organic, cold-pressed juices.
Step 4: If there are deeper connections to this pair, consider them.
According to J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, healthy behaviors like eating better and exercising more tend to pair together, as opposed to the less healthy teaming of exercise and heavy drinking.There does seem to be something more than a new fad behind this pair.There have been beer leagues in bowling and softball for a long time.Scientists have wondered if the anecdotal link between exercise and increased alcohol consumption has a basis in fact.On days when people exercise more, they are more likely to consume alcohol than normal.
Step 5: Exercise and drinking seem to go together.
Increased exercise and increased alcohol consumption tend to happen on the same day regardless of age group or day of the week.The question is difficult to answer.It may seem like a combination of celebration andguilt is the cause.A person wants to congratulate himself for completing a triathlon so he enjoys a party and drinks a lot.A person knows she is going to be out all night partying so she schedules a hard-core workout the day before or after.The factors can play a role, but don't tell the whole story.
Step 6: The brain responds to both activities.
The same area of the brain is stimulated by both physical exertion and alcohol consumption.Your neural reward circuitry is activated by both of them.Since humankind's earliest times, the benefits of physical activity have triggered this response.Alcohol was embraced by our ancestors because they found that it triggered the same pleasure response based on its chemistry.Both alcohol and exercise cause a release of dopamine and a feeling of euphoria, which can be experienced after a vigorous workout or a few drinks with friends.Since the two activities make us feel the same, it is natural for us to want to pair them in order to keep the good times rolling.
Step 7: Don't drink too much after exercising.
You might think that exercise and alcohol consumption are the odd couple.This doesn't mean healthonism is healthy.Regardless of whether your brain rewards you with a pleasure response or not, too much of either activity can have negative consequences.A process that is critical to muscle repair and building is impaired by excessive alcohol consumption.If you drink too much after exercising, you won't be able to recover quickly and your muscles will be less strong.Moderate alcohol consumption should not have a negative impact.
Step 8: Remember to keep your calories in check.
Alcoholic beverages are almost entirely empty calories.Don't underestimate the calories in alcoholic beverages and the amount of exercise required to balance them out.Without burning off at least as many calories as you are consuming, there isn't much health to healthonism.It takes an average person about half an hour to burn off two pints of beer, which has 180 calories.If you go on a drinking binge, you will need to run a lot to make up for it.The term "intoxication" refers to alcohol being treated as a toxic substance by the body.If you consume excessive alcohol, you may burn less fat by working out.