10-Minute Mondays: How to Hack the "Alcohol Effect"

In last week’s conversation with Dr. Jason Kilmer, we uncovered something shocking—most of what we think alcohol does for us isn’t actually caused by alcohol itself. We like to believe that drinking makes us more confident, social, and relaxed, but Jason’s research proves that our brains create these effects based on expectation, not the drink itself.
In this 10-Minute Monday, I’m breaking down Jason’s groundbreaking experiment where participants acted drunk even when they weren’t drinking, simply because they believed they had alcohol. Meanwhile, those who actually drank but didn’t think they had alcohol showed none of the typical social effects—no increased confidence, no extra energy, no party vibes. This experiment is a game-changer for anyone looking to take control of their drinking.
So, what does this mean for you as a Sunnyside member? It means you have more influence over your experience than you ever realized. Today, I’ll be breaking down exactly how this “alcohol effect” works, the key takeaways from my conversation with Jason, and—most importantly—how you can use this knowledge to drink smarter and feel more in control. Let’s dive in.

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ABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol moderation app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.

Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.

Creators and Guests

Host

Mike Hardenbrook

#1 best-selling author of "No Willpower Required," neuroscience enthusiast, and habit change expert.

What is Journey to the Sunnyside?

Journey to the Sunnyside is a top 1% podcast, reaching over 500,000 listeners every week. It’s your guide to exploring mindful living with alcohol—whether you're cutting back, moderating, or thinking about quitting.

While Sunnyside helps you reduce your drinking, this podcast goes further, diving into topics like mindful drinking, sober curiosity, moderation, and full sobriety. Through real stories, expert insights, and science-backed strategies, we help you find what actually works for your journey.

Hosted by Mike Hardenbrook, a #1 best-selling author and neuroscience enthusiast, the show is dedicated to helping people transform their relationship with alcohol—without shame, judgment, or rigid rules.

This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the leading platform for mindful drinking. Want to take the next step in your journey? Head over to sunnyside.co for a free 15-day trial.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in our episodes do not necessarily represent those of Sunnyside. We’re committed to sharing diverse perspectives on health and wellness. If you’re concerned about your drinking, please consult a medical professional. Sunnyside, this podcast, and its guests are not necessarily medical providers and the content is not medical advice. We do not endorse drinking in any amount.

Mike: 00:00

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. Hey, everyone.

Mike: 00:36

Welcome back to one of these ten Minute Mondays. And today I'm going to dive into a fascinating conversation that I had last week with Doctor. Jason Kilmer. And if you haven't watched that episode, I highly recommend that you go listen to it. But if you haven't, no worries.

Mike: 00:50

This is still going to make sense because I'm going to break it down with some of the key concepts that he shared and more importantly, discuss how we can apply them to our own mindful drinking journey. So the first key concept is the power of expectation and that your mind shapes your drinking experience. So one of the biggest key takeaways from Jason's research is that a lot of what we believe alcohol does for us, whether it's making us more social, confident, or relaxed actually isn't coming from the alcohol itself. It's coming from our expectations and social conditioning. And the experiment that Jason did actually proves everything that I just said here.

Mike: 01:31

And again, I already said, go listen to it, but I also want to mention Jason's just an entertaining and very, very smart guy. So definitely go listen to it, but I'll break it down here because this study is fascinating. It really is. And I don't pull that word out very often and use it. So Jason's lab conducted a study where they divided participants into four groups.

Mike: 01:55

And these groups were in an environment that actually looked like a bar that they set up inside of the campus of university of Washington. So the first group expected to get no alcohol, go and hang out and they received no alcohol. As anticipated, there was no noticeable changes in everyone's behavior over time. They sort of looked bored or, you know, just passing the time. So group number two then expected alcohol and received alcohol.

Mike: 02:24

And these participants acted exactly the same as expected. They were more social. It got louder over time. They were playing drinking games. They were more outgoing, not that different from what we perceive would happen if we gave a group alcohol.

Mike: 02:40

Now, this is where it gets interesting. Group three expected alcohol and received no alcohol, a placebo. And despite drinking non alcoholic beverages that tasted like alcohol, they had these concoctions that they made up. This group actually displayed the same social effects as those that were actually consuming alcohol in the previous group. So this is about our expectations.

Mike: 03:04

And then number four, also very interesting, expected no alcohol and actually received alcohol. In this group, even though that they were actually drinking, did not display the typical social effects of alcohol because they didn't expect them. And if they kind of got clumsy or drip knocked something over, they would just kind of explain it off as being tired. And so what do we take from this? There's a lot of things that we could, but a simple one would be that our expectations and our environment dictate our behavior more than the alcohol itself.

Mike: 03:38

So I want you to try and experiment this week, and it's not going to be to the effect of a placebo group, of course, but go to the social gathering and order a non alcoholic drink, but tell yourself when you drink this, you're going to feel more engaged, more fun, more present, more part of the group, even if they're drinking alcohol and you're not. And notice if you have any behavior changes, if your social energy is really about mindset and environment, then you don't really need the alcohol to create that. And one thing that he mentioned during the interview is how many times have you actually said, I need a drink to unwind and you only just take the first couple sips and you're like, oh, I already feel better. The alcohol is not doing that. It has not set in yet and the quantity hasn't.

Mike: 04:26

So there's another example. So think of a little experiment where you could trick your mind and see what happens. All right. The next one is that we discussed harm reduction, and this is really about small shifts that create big changes. And he talks about this and ascribes to it, but everyone sort of has their own take on it.

Mike: 04:44

And it's this idea that any step towards reducing risks are valuable, even if someone isn't cutting out alcohol completely. And this fits perfectly with Sunnyside's approach, whether you're cutting back or taking a break, it's about making choices that align to your goals. So harm reduction can be as simple as swapping high proof alcohol for a lower proof alcohol or eating between drinks or eating before drinking to slow that absorption. Another would be alternating alcoholic drinks with water, also known as zebra striping or drinking at a slower pace rather than drinking fast. Right?

Mike: 05:26

So all of those things are actually in the category of harm reduction when you start to apply them. So my takeaway and challenge is pick one of these harm reduction strategies. If you're not already doing it, implement it this week. Maybe it's having a full meal before you drink, switching to a lower ABV drink, or just deciding ahead of time how many drinks you'll have, which planning and tracking is the foundation to Sunny Side's approach. Remember these small shifts, they all do add up and you're improving over time.

Mike: 06:00

The next key concept that we discussed was something called normative misperception. So a major psychological trap that we fall into is thinking, Hey, you know what? Everyone drinks or that most people drink, or even that most people that drink, drink more than they actually do. And Jason's research actually shows that this isn't true. Most people aren't drinking excessively, even even though that's often what we notice most in social situations, it's usually the loudest drinkers get the most attention, making it seem like heavy drinking is more of the norm.

Mike: 06:35

And so the key takeaway here is that if you've ever felt pressured to drink just to fit in, remind yourself that nearly half of the people aren't actually drinking in a given social situation. So you're far from alone in choosing either moderation or to abstain at a specific event or in general. And if you need reinforcement, go out with a non drinking or a light drinking friend this week and see how different this experience feels. All right. And then the last topic that we covered was environmental triggers.

Mike: 07:08

So how small tweaks can change your drinking habits. We talk about that all the time on this show. And he talked about little factors like glass size, drink presentation, and who you're with impact how much you drink. So here's some of the research that he tells us is that number one, large glasses lead to slower consumption. So in turn, you can opt for a tall glass if you're having a mixed drink.

Mike: 07:35

Ice dilutes alcohol content, and then it slows down the drinking process. Then carbonation speeds up the alcohol absorption. If you didn't know that it's totally true. So you might think about soda mixers and things like champagne and beer, maybe switch to something that is not carbonation based to slow the absorption and reduce the harm basically. And then last is have a drink in your hand.

Mike: 08:03

Even if it's not alcoholic, it helps with the social comfort. And there were some studies that we talked about with that. So the key takeaway, make one environmental tweak this week to support your mindful drinking goals. Maybe it's sticking to a tall glass with ice. Maybe it's alternating drinks with water or starting the night out with a non alcoholic option.

Mike: 08:25

So these are all takeaways that we've talked about, but I wanted to relate it specifically to the studies and the insights that he had that are already confirmed in these studies. So it's really interesting. So my final thought on this and the key lessons from Jason's research, drinking doesn't automatically make us more social. Doesn't make us more confident or fun. It's actually our beliefs and habits that shape our experience.

Mike: 08:50

And that means that you can have way more control over our drinking behaviors than we actually think that we do. So mindful drinking isn't about deprivation. It's about choice. And when you understand the psychology behind drinking, you get to decide what role alcohol plays in your life rather than unconsciously letting habits dictate your decisions. So this week's final parting challenge is to pick one of the insights from today and go put it into practice.

Mike: 09:19

Let me know how it goes. I'd love to hear from you. MikeSunnyside dot co Of course, I would love if you could rate or review if you got any benefit from this or any previous episodes. And that's it for today's episode. I hope you have a beautiful week and keep making mindful choices.

Mike: 09:36

Choices. Cheers to your 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.