Many people, especially students, favour binge and excessive drinking over responsible drinking. While this may not cause much damage in the short term and if done irregularly, it can cause health problems later on.

One of the immediate damaging effects of alcohol is the lack of sleep. Not only are you more likely to go to sleep later, but the sleep you have will contain less cycles of REM sleep so you will feel less refreshed in the morning.

Other health effects include liver problems, early ageing, sleep problems, reduced fertility, weight gain, sexual problems, high blood pressure, increased risk of some cancers and heart attacks. Some of these are not due to the alcohol itself but the calories that are taken in when drinking (e.g. a glass of wine has 130 calories, a pint of lager 170 calories and spirits 55 calories not including the mixer). On top of this, many people who drink will also frequent takeaways after a night out.

The expense of this can also be quite staggering, so it might be worth looking into how much you spend on a night out, to see if you could cut back (this might also include expensive taxi journeys, etc.)

If you are regularly excessively drinking, you may also be at risk of ruining relationships such as via drunken texting/calling, as well as starting arguments that you normally wouldn’t.

The NHS recommends that men drink 3-4 units a day and women 2-3 units a day. A unit is 10 ml or 8g of pure alcohol which is around the average an adult can process in an hour. Examples of some of the units of drinks are 2.1 units in a standard (175ml) glass of wine, 2-3 units in a pint of lager, 1.7 in a bottle of lager, 2 in a can of lager, 1.5 in alcopops and 1.4 unit in asingle (35ml) shot of spirits.

Some tips for cutting down are:

• Make a plan on how much you intend to drink before you go out
• This may also include making a budget; you could leave your card at home and only take the money you intend to spend on drink plus money for transport
• Tell your friends and family that you are trying to cut down so that they can help you out
• Do it in steps so that you gradually become used to having healthier nights out
• Cut down on the number of days you go out; make excuses so that you don’t take every invitation
• Drinks-wise, you could order a smaller sized drink or one that is of lower strength
• Alternate alcohol drinks with soft drinks so that you give your body time to process the alcohol. Drinking water will also keep you hydrated so you may not feel as ill in the morning

Cutting down has the additional benefit of improving your mood, sleep, behaviour, heart, immune system as well as making you feel fresher in the mornings, being less tired during the day, making your skin look better, making you feel fitter and helping you lose weight.