The Science Behind Tracking Your Drinks
Welcome to Journey to the Sunnyside, the podcast where we have thoughtful conversations to explore the science of habits, uncover the secrets to mindful living, and of course, your own mindful drinking journey. This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the number one alcohol moderation platform. And if you could benefit from drinking a bit less, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial. I'm your host, Mike Hartenbrook, published author, neuroscience enthusiast and habit change expert.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to Journey to the Sunnyside. I'm Mike Hartenbrook, today we're going to dig into the simple but surprisingly powerful tools that can change your relationship with alcohol. And what is that? Well, you probably guessed it from the title. It s tracking.
Speaker 2:So this is one shift, logging what you drink, that can completely change how you think, how you feel, and how you follow through when it comes to habits specifically that we're talking about here for alcohol. And in fact, Sunnyside members have cut their drinking on average by 30% over ninety days, and tracking plays a huge role in all of that. So let's get into it. Why this works? What's happening in your brain when you do it and how we actually built it into Sunnyside as a system and how you can start applying it right now.
Speaker 2:Most people try and cut back by making rules. I was doing this all the time actually for years, which is kind of embarrassing to say, but I know I'm not alone in saying that, and I'm comfortable to actually say that. But, you know, you say things like no drinks on the weekend or I'm only gonna have one glass tonight, or maybe other rules like never in the house, or only when I'm out. But the problem with those rules is that they rely, of all, on our memory, and even worst of all, our willpower. And when you're tired or you're triggered or you're stressed, those rules, they don't simply hold up.
Speaker 2:But tracking is different. It takes your drinking from this vague thing in your mind to something that's very visible. You're not guessing anymore. You're not trying to remember. You have actual data to work with.
Speaker 2:And this isn't just theory. I'm not just talking here, you know, out of my own experience. In fact, self monitoring is one of the most researched and reliable behavioral tools out there. Whether we're talking about nutrition, exercise, maybe your spending habits, and of course alcohol, it is proven that people who track change more consistently than those who do not. So when you log your drinks, your brain starts to link the actions to the outcome, and you stop reacting and start observing.
Speaker 2:And this observation alone is a major shift. Now let's talk about what's actually happening neurologically. So every habit runs on a loop. It's called the habit loop. And the consensus is there's three parts to this loop.
Speaker 2:There is the cue, the routine and the reward. So for example, you feel tension or stress, that's a cue. You pour a drink whenever you feel that, that's your routine. And you get a sense of relief or escape. That is your reward.
Speaker 2:So over time, that loop gets stored deep in your brain in a part called the basal ganglia, and that's your autopilot center. But when you track, you activate the prefrontal cortex. That's the part of your brain responsible for conscious thought, long term planning and decision making. So that moment that you write it down or you tap on your phone when it comes to Sunnyside, you're interrupting that loop and it's creating a behavioral pause between the urge and the action. So that space actually gives you the power to decide.
Speaker 2:You might think things like, do I really want this right now? Is this routine working for me? Is this aligning to what I am envisioning for myself? Whatever that internal thought is, it is interrupting that loop. So even if you do decide in that moment to still have that drink, you're choosing it and not just on autopilot or repeating it.
Speaker 2:And that's the beginning to have it rewiring. And that's what makes tracking so effective. Here's something that a lot of people miss, however. Tracking alone is helpful, but when you combine it with planning, you get exponential results. So planning puts you in charge before the moment hits.
Speaker 2:It's proactive. And tracking instead is reflective. It shows you how it actually played out. So here at Sunnyside, we pair these intentionally is all designed into what we do. So you get a check-in at the beginning of each week to set the goals.
Speaker 2:Maybe you're aiming for three dry days or maybe you're trying to cut down the total drinks by, let's just say 25%. Whatever your goal is, the act of writing it down builds a commitment and then each day you log how it went. So that loop instead is plan, track and reflect. And that's where the magic actually happens in this entire rewiring of your habits. So your brain starts learning from itself.
Speaker 2:And when you see that your goals and your actions are starting to align, and that creates a feeling that psychologists call self efficacy. And in basics, that is the belief that you can trust yourself to follow through. And it's one of the strongest predictors of long term change. And even when things don't go as planned, that reflection, it builds resilience instead of just feeling bad or guilty about yourself. So now I actually want to share a real Sunnyside story from the community and that is they didn't want to quit drinking, but they wanted to get more intentional.
Speaker 2:So they set a weekly drink target and started tracking it. This is pretty familiar with most people who have tried Sunnyside. So after just a few weeks of vlogging, they saw in their drinking what was happening during the moment, and that was they were drinking during boredom. They weren't drinking because it was stress. They weren't drinking because of celebration.
Speaker 2:It just became a routine because of boredom. And that insight changed everything for them. So instead, they started planning out dry days and they found new ways to decompress, to fill that boredom and kept tracking to stay aware. They also used the journaling feature to share reflections and read those of others, and that made them feel less isolated and what they were trying to achieve much more doable. And with the coaching that they accessed layered in there, they stayed on track through the tougher weeks.
Speaker 2:And their result was that they cut back significantly, slept better, and they said they were never going back, and I quote, to that person again. And it all well, it all started with tracking. Now, of course, that was a summary and a fast forward of the entire results. But I just want to assure you that was an actual Sunnyside member. And that is a typical kind of story that we see here and is part of the reason that I just love being part of this mission because it's really changing lives.
Speaker 2:It is very doable to reach your goals without having to change your identity. Now, if you're ready to try this out for yourself or you haven't tried it, of course, Sunnyside is one of the easiest, most effective ways. However, anybody listening to this that isn't currently using Sunnyside, it is still something that you can get started with. So for the next seven days, here's my challenge to you in three steps. So step one, each morning set a quick intention.
Speaker 2:Put your drink all for the day, whether you want it to be a dry day or the set amount of drinks that you want to have. Step two at night, log what actually happened. And then step three, add a quick note. So what triggered the drink or how did it feel before and after? And that's it.
Speaker 2:You don't need to change anything. You just need to track. So at the end of the week, all you got to do is review your notes, look for patterns and they will start to show up. I guarantee you. Once you see these patterns, now is the time that you can come up with ideas to interrupt that pattern loop and begin to shift your entire behaviors.
Speaker 2:Now you might be thinking, Okay, three steps. Yeah, it can't be that easy. Just track and then change. Yeah. Okay, come on, Mike.
Speaker 2:But this process actually works because it's based on how the brain learns and adapts. So every time that you track, you're strengthening the neural connections responsible for awareness and decision making, and you're no longer on this autopilot just going through the motions or relying on willpower. You're also building self trust, which is so important. You're collecting these small wins as you go, and you're learning how to adjust without giving up everything that you kind of want to still keep around, but in a more responsible, moderate way. And what happens is that over time that becomes your new default, not by force, but by repetition and reflection.
Speaker 2:And that's why we build tracking, planning and community support into everything that we do here at Sunnyside, because we know it works and the results you heard the stats, they speak for themselves. All right. As we wrap up here, here's the quick takeaway. Tracking changes behavior because it changes your awareness. It gives you data, not drama, and you can combine it with a clear plan and a little support.
Speaker 2:And those are the results that are going to be lasting. So here's my challenge again. Try it for a week. Just get curious. See what happens.
Speaker 2:See what patterns you can identify. And if you want a system, of course, that makes it easier to stay on track. Check out Sunnyside at sunnyside.co. There is a free fifteen day trial. This comes with daily check ins, coaching, and real structure to help you follow through.
Speaker 2:Thanks again for hanging out with me today. I hope you have a beautiful week and cheers to your mindful drinking journey.
Speaker 1:This podcast is brought to you by Sunny Side, the number one alcohol moderation platform. And if you could benefit from drinking a bit less, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial.
Creators and Guests
