I read an article last year about the effects of craft beer vs. the standard light beer. Have you ever wondered why you can drink 16 Miller Lites that have 4% alcohol by volume (ABV), but you have trouble spelling your name after a couple IPAs at 8% ABV? After all, it’s only an extra 4% - what’s the big deal?
It has everything to do with your body’s ability to absorb the alcohol. My numbers are not perfect, but for the sake of simplicity and brevity, here it goes: Depending on your weight, your body can absorb a certain amount of alcohol per hour. Let’s say, for most people, that’s a 12-ounce, 3% ABV beer. So, if you drink one Miller Lite in an hour that has 4% ABV, your body has absorbed 3% of the alcohol and you’re only being impacted by the remaining 1%. If you drink three Miller Lites in two hours, then the margin is 6% (three beers equaling 12% minus the 6% your body absorbs in two hours). Now, what happens if you drink three of those IPAs in two hours? That’s right – the margin is now 18%. The amount of alcohol that effects your sobriety has tripled (18% vs. 6%). It’s the remaining alcohol, or the margin, that matters.
Great, but where’s the lesson?
Think about the last time you had a week that caused a lot of stress because you had to put in extra hours at work. For example, let’s say that you typically work 45 hours per week and that’s a good balance for you. Remember when you had to put in 52 hours a few weeks ago, and your shoulders were touching your ears by Wednesday afternoon? Why were you so stressed? You put in 47 hours a few weeks before that and it didn’t really bother you. What’s an extra few hours over the course of a week?
Well, just like the IPA vs. the light beer, it’s not 52 hours vs. 47 hours. The difference in your stress level is directly related to the margin – it’s actually 7 hours vs. 2 hours (the number of hours above the standard 45 hours that you work). This is the math we have to consider when planning our days or weeks, and in this example you actually worked 3.5 times longer in your margin – no wonder you were stressed.
So, make sure you know your level of absorption – how much can you take on in a typical week and not feel overwhelmed or stressed. Understand that the remaining time is your margin, and every hour you take away from your margin time will add stress exponentially. Don’t think “Well, I’ve got five appointments on Thursday, what’s the big deal about adding a sixth?” It’s a huge deal. Remember, it’s not six against five – it’s one meeting that breaks into that margin time that is so precious to our ability to stay fresh.
One more thing – thank God IPAs weren’t readily available when we were in college.
