How much do you really drink?

[GJD23000]

It’s an interesting topic, and I think lots of people wonder how their drinking compares to others. For us, my husband tends to have a beer or two most evenings, maybe a couple more on weekends if we’re relaxing or watching something together. I rarely drink during the week but will usually have 2-3 glasses of wine spread over Friday and Saturday evenings.

If we’re out with friends or at a party (which is rare now we’re parents), we can definitely drink more, maybe a bottle of wine each or cocktails, depending on the occasion. But that only happens if we’ve got a babysitter and plenty of time to recover the next day!

I’m genuinely curious to hear about others drinking habits and whether this is typical or not. No judgement at all—just keen to know! For context we have one child and are late 30s.

I love alcohol. I drank too much during my 20s and most of my 30s.
I'm now in my 40s and don't drink during the week at home. Will happily drink with friends at the weekend. Love a cocktail. Love a G&T. The only difference is now I don't drink that much as I can't handle hangovers.

its not typical for myself and my DH. i think between us, we had about 3 cans of cider over the whole christmas period, with perhaps a glass of wine.

since then.. nothing!

Can't stand any alcohol these days. It makes me feel awful. I don't miss it.

I’m doing dry January ( first time ever ).
usually I’d have 3 or 4 glasses of wine on Friday and Saturday night then maybe a glass or two on 1 or 2 mid week.
I might have 5-6 nights in the year where I go overboard, like birthdays/ weddings etc and spend a few days recovering!

I’m 51 now and find I can’t sleep properly if I have even one drink ( never had this problem) and I also find I’m sluggish and headachy the next day. That’s why I’m trying dry January and so far, so good.
I’m going to try cut back to take away once a month and I’ll have glass or two with that and then have a few drinks on a ( rare ) night out.
i know i need to cut back cos it’s not worth the morning after, even though I love my wine!

Two children, in my 30s. I drink two glasses of wine most Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Try to stay within 14 units, regularly go just over, but also have the occasional weekend with no alcohol. Have binge drank once in the last few years (immense regret).

I do think we drink more than others who were a friends with, but we both come from drinking families and drink less than both our sets of parents so I guess that’s some progress?!

I barely drink these days, and it’s been like that since I had my son four years ago. He was an abominable sleeper, up multiple times per night all through the first 18 months. The thought of dealing with a hangover on top of my severe sleep deprivation killed any desire to drink and I just vehemently didn’t want to do it.

Once his sleep improved I just found I was out of the habit and didn’t miss it. Every couple of months if I’m out for dinner or at a party I’ll have a glass or two of wine but that’s it. I don’t ever drink at home any more. My husband was never a big drinker and now he’s the same as me - will have a couple of drinks when he’s out but doesn’t drink at home.

I’m now breastfeeding my second baby so not going out or drinking at all. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to being a regular drinker now. I don’t miss it at all and I’m not sure what it would bring to my life.

I drink about a billion cups of tea a day. Alcohol wise though - I reckon I had around 5 cocktails in the whole of 2024. So I'm not tee total at all, but I do only drink one, maybe two drinks during a social evening do.
Dh last had a pint last March I think.

I don’t drink anymore (nearly 2 years sober now). I would say I think you drink less than most in middle age, if that’s an accurate reflection of your drinking habits.

Most people drink far more than they will admit to. Lots of people only count the ‘social drinks’. The glasses of wine with dinner at the weekend. Or out with friends after work. They will skim over the bottle they finished Sunday evening or the couple glasses of wine on the train home.

I’d say most people in my social circle drink Friday, Saturday, Sunday and quite often have a glass of wine or two or a bottle making dinner most nights. It’s how my drinking was too before it got a lot more dark. I think there is a real resistance to calling this sort of ‘few glasses of wine’ while making dinner problematic, but of course, it is. It’s a huge amount of alcohol in a week. I can definitely count several people just in my group of mum friends who drink this way and I’d say have a considerable issue with alcohol that they aren’t addressing. It certainly takes one to know one. But I don’t think this is unusual in our age group 30/40/50s.

I drink about once a month and get a bit tipsy. DH is teetotal.

What's your definition of binge? Is it the government definition or do you go overboard?

I drink on a Sat night but it's rarely more than the equivalent of half a bottle of wine and a short. Mainly because it knocks me sideways for the day(s) after. That apparently is binge but ??

It's a good job really as I love the mouthfeel of hard alcohol 😳

I find it hard to quantify.
Over Christmas I drank every day bar one from the day the kids broke up from school until the day before they went back. Some days I had just one drink, most days two or three, and a few days of significantly more. Since then I’ve had one drink, and before that I’d not drunk since I had a weekend away at the end of November.

On a normal week I’d probably have 0-2 drinks but holidays and Christmas etc I drink more

I'm early 30s and don't drink at all when it's just me and DP at home. I drink as pint max when having dinner with friends, perhaps twice a month. On the rare occasion that I go out in the evening (once a month perhaps) I can drink a lot more, depends on the type of night. Out with best friend for a night at the pub, perhaps 6 gin and tonics and a couple of pints. Rare, though! More likely 3 drinks.

Oh get a grip. It's not competitive, some people just don't drink much, why does that have to be competitive?

It varies - very rarely during the week and if so it would only be one glass of wine. I might have a couple of glasses of wine on a Friday or Saturday night and sometimes a beer or cider on Sunday afternoon after rugby or if we got for a walk that ends at a pub. More than that when socialising though.

I drink more in the summer and around Christmas, but since Christmas I've had 2 g&ts on a night out with a friend, and a pint of cider last Sunday. I think that's it.

I rarely drink alcohol.

Maybe a few Baileys across December / Christmas period, and the odd pimms and lemonade in the summer.

DH's former partner drank herself to death. Hearing the story has REALLY put me off - I know she was an extreme case, but it sounds truly horrible.

I was only ever a social drinker but my mental health is better since rarely drinking at all.

I only drink socially. Happy with a cuppa on a week night. I go out a lot and socialise regularly but these last two years I’ve only had one or two drinks or non at all so I can drive. I never want to spoil the following day. Time is so precious. I’m 47 and still enjoy going to gigs and only last month I went to see a dj play until 3:30am - completely sober. Felt smug the next day. My friend is a teacher and drinks wine every evening. She can’t believe I don’t drink.

I've recently given up (beginning of December) just decided it wasn't for me anymore. Don't have a problem but didn't like how it made me feel.

I had a Baileys to see the new year in and before that it was a cocktail on holiday in October. Before that a cocktail in may on holiday. I don't really like the way alcohol makes me feel and I am of an age where I value waking up and feeling good!

I’m completely teetotal now but was never a big drinker before. I’d never drink at home. I’ve lost my tolerance for it since my early twenties and it just makes me feel dizzy now. I have enough trouble with negotiating steps while wearing heels as it is; I don’t need to add dizziness into the mix. DH will occasionally have a shandy or a cider or two at home or spirits if we go out out, but he’s not a regular drinker either. I drink coke, he likes a mocktail.

My friends all drink, ranging from a glass of wine after a tough day, to borderline alcoholism (her description, not mine). I’ll happily go to the pub with any of them.

I was a daily drinker for years. Used to regularly polish off a bottle of cava each night. Then dropped down to a couple of beers.

Cut way down about 18 months ago and try very hard not to drink 4 days of the week. Sometimes I manage 7 alcohol free days in a row but not as often as I'd like.

It's crept up a bit of the past several months due to work stress but never drink 7 days a week anymore. 5 would be a bad week for me.

I probably have a few occasions each year where I get wasted at social functions. The hangovers are horrific and I'm not able to function for the whole day afterwards so this is a rarity. It used to be a regular occurrence.

Despite my username.. in the last year I have drank alcohol 3 times

family wedding: 2 glasses champagne
gig: 2 glasses of wine
Christmas Eve, half a measure of baileys in a hot chocolate

This is mumsnet OP where if you drink more than half a glass of wine a week you're overdoing it. Most people will probably come on to tell you either they don't drink, or they drink 3 times a year or something so I don't think you'll get a wide range of views

This gets trotted out, virtually word for word, every time this question gets asked on MN

I can only presume it comes from people who are actually worried they are drinking more than is sensible or healthy.

At the very least it would seem by people who struggle with the concept that other people might behave differently from them.

I also agree with pp who said we are all likely to know "people like us", so, in the same way you think it is normal to drink at home every night, as everyone you know does, lots of us think it is pretty normal to only drink alcohol at a social occasion - Christmas, parties, weddings, special meal out, etc.

I don’t drink alcohol.

Some weeks nothing at all, others maybe a glass or two of wine on a Friday or saturday evening. Sometimes a G&T. Before a gallstone damaged my pancreas and caused me no end of trouble I would drink a whole box or wine every week. I’d always do some alcohol free days but I’d want a drink on those days. I gave up completely for many years, and now drink very much in moderation, most of the time i’d rather have a cup of tea.

I've been teetotal for 7 years. I might start drinking more when the dcs are older (am still breastfeeding) but it would be one unit up to 5 times a year. It gives me a headache and makes me sleepy so I don't really enjoy it, but it does make me relax a bit more so its nice on occasion. I used to drink a lot more in my 20s when I went out a lot, but most of the time these days I just hang out with DH and don't feel the need for it.