Knowing your limit is so important if you are out drinking with friends. Knowing when to stop will help you avoid the negative consequences of heavy drinking. Some drinkers can know when they’ve hit their limit just by the sensation of their body. Others use alcohol charts to help them decide when enough is enough. You can also perform field sobriety tests on yourself, or have a friend do them with you. And finally, you can purchase a breathalyzer as well to measure the alcohol content in your system. Drinking responsibly will help you avoid the dangers of over-indulging like health issues, hangovers, or driving accidents.
Knowing Your Limit: How to Know When to Quit Drinking
Feeling Drunk
Knowing your limit comes easier the longer you’ve been drinking. If you are an infrequent drinker, or if you’ve recently started drinking, it can be hard to know when to stop. Many people think that stopping when you’re “buzzed” is a good idea. This is when you reach the state of intoxication where you feel relaxed, giggly, happy, or your muscles feel a little looser. The room shouldn’t be spinning and you should not be sick to your stomach. Stopping when you are buzzed will usually prevent you from having an extreme hangover. However, you should never drive while buzzed.
Alcohol Chart
Knowing your limit can be hard, so some people rely on alcohol charts to help them know when enough is enough. An alcohol chart can show you how many drinks per hour somebody of your weight should stick to. However, there can be a lot of room for error with these. A lot depends on your body type, your drinking history, your metabolism, and how much food you’ve had in the day.
Field Sobriety Tests
Trying to do some field sobriety tests can help you with knowing your limit as well. These are the types of tests that cops use when they pull people over who they suspect of drinking and driving. You can try balancing on one leg or walking a straight line forwards and backward. Have a friend perform the tests on you to tell you how you’ve done. If you are having trouble completing the tasks, it’s probably time to stop drinking.
BAC
Finally, a breathalyzer can help you with knowing your limit too. A breathalyzer tests the BAC or blood-alcohol content in your breath when you breathe into a tube. However, like the drinking charts, there is a lot of room for error. There are many different qualities of at-home breathalyzers, so you can never know how reliable yours is. If you are planning to use one to see if you are sober enough to drive, you can blow a different number for a cop and get a DUI. Theirs are much more sensitive and might register more clearly. If you want to drive, it’s best not to drink at all.
Knowing your limit with drinking is important to help you have a good time without the aftermath of hangovers, health issues, or DWI’s. Stopping when you feel buzzed is usually a good rule of thumb when drinking. However, it’s never safe to drive in this condition. If you want to use a chart, it can be a helpful baseline to show you a proper amount to drink. Field sobriety tests can help you determine if it’s time to stop as well. And finally, a breathalyzer should give you an idea of how intoxicated you are, but should never be depended on for driving. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find your drinking limit and enjoy a night out with friends without things getting out of hand.