We all know how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns impacted drinking habits. Suffice to say many of us started to drink too much due to the resulting stress, despair, and social isolation.

But it turns out that’s not the only way alcohol and COVID are related.

A new study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has shown that drinking in moderation may reduce your risk of developing long COVID (vs. heavy drinking).

Researchers studied over 30K female nurses’ lifestyles and studied the subsequent COVID experiences of those who contracted the disease.

They found six healthy lifestyle factors resulted in lower long COVID risk (the others were healthy body weight, sufficient sleep, not smoking, regular exercise, and high quality diet).

It was a big difference - someone who had five or six of these healthy lifestyle factors going for them had about half the risk of developing long COVID! They also had about a 30% lower risk of serious long COVID symptoms, if they did experience it.

It’s worth noting, too, that drinking less can help you achieve several of the other factors, too: eating well, maintaining a healthy body weight, regular exercise and sufficient sleep are all easier when you’re not drinking to excess.

So: if avoiding long COVID is important to you, consider drinking less!

If you’re working to cut back or quit drinking, join us today. Drinker’s Helper is an app that provides motivational exercises, drink tracking and insights into why you drink, and a personalized support group of your peers to help you make needed changes. We believe you can do it!