Beyond the fireworks, cocktails and BBQs, how does July 4th truly impact your body?

Beyond the fireworks, cocktails and BBQs, how does July 4th truly impact your body?

The July 4th weekend often leads to deviations from our typical schedules, including increased alcohol intake, later bedtimes, and shifts in diet.  We anticipate poor sleep during the holidays, but wearable technology provides a direct, documented insight into how these indulgences affect our health. Feeling the effects is one thing; seeing them objectively measured is another.

Alcohol: A Real-Time Look at How it Affects Your Body

Wearable data reveals that even moderate drinking can significantly disrupt sleep quality and your body’s recovery process.

• Whoop’s 2023 Sleep & Alcohol Study shows just one or two alcoholic drinks can reduce overnight heart rate variability (HRV)—a key indicator of your body’s recovery—by up to 20%. Lower HRV means your body is under greater physiological stress, impacting your energy and performance the next day. The graph below illustrates the effects on REM sleep, resting heart rate, sleep efficiency, and recovery score.

Bright Lights: How They Interrupt Your Sleep Rhythm

Enjoying fireworks and bright festive lights is part of the holiday fun, but these lights can disrupt your body’s natural rhythms.

• Oura Ring Circadian Rhythm Study highlighted that exposure to bright artificial light in the evening delays melatonin production, the hormone vital for restful sleep. This results in less deep sleep and feeling less refreshed in the morning.
  

• Garmin’s 2022 Health & Recovery Metrics data further illustrates that evenings with increased exposure to bright lights correlate with higher resting heart rates and reduced sleep recovery scores, impacting your overall well-being.
  

Bad Habits: How Holidays Impact Your Health Goals

Wearables also show how quickly temporary habits such as stopping exercise can influence your health. VO2 max is like a superpower score for your body.  It tells you how much oxygen your body can use when you're exercising really, really hard. According to the 2022 Apple Watch Activity Trends Study, even a short break in physical activity during a holiday weekend can quickly reduce cardiovascular fitness, as measured by VO2 max.