This Think Thursday episode may just become one of your favorites. Molly explores the overlooked but powerful connection between water and brain health. From hydration to hydrotherapy, sound to sensation, this episode unpacks four science-backed ways water supports your brain, helps regulate your emotions, and contributes to meaningful, lasting behavior change.
Whether you love a hot bath, play ocean waves to fall asleep, or are curious about cold plunges, you'll come away with practical tools and deeper insight into how water can shift your mindset and support your alcohol minimalist journey.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- Why staying hydrated is foundational for mental clarity and emotional regulation
- How the sound of water activates your parasympathetic nervous system and enhances alpha brain wave activity
- The role of warm water immersion in releasing oxytocin and reducing cortisol
- How brief exposure to cold water can support your nervous system and build emotional resilience
Key Insight
"You don’t always have to fight your thoughts. Sometimes, you can just let them flow."
Molly brings her signature blend of neuroscience and real-world practicality to show how water is more than just a basic need—it’s a regulating, mindset-shifting, nervous-system-supporting tool. With each method, she explains how and why it works, and encourages listeners to build small rituals that support lasting change.
Try This:
- Drink a full glass of water when you're feeling mentally foggy or emotionally off balance
- Use water sounds during journaling, meditation, or focus time
- Take a hot shower or bath as a way to downshift your nervous system and activate self-compassion
- Explore cold water exposure for mood regulation and alertness (even a 30-second burst can help)
Resources Mentioned:
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What is Alcohol Minimalist: Change Your Drinking Habits! ?
Change your relationship with alcohol without shame, guilt, or going sober. Join science-based coach Molly Watts to break habits and find peace through mindful drinking.
Hosted by author and coach Molly Watts, this show is for daily habit drinkers, adult children of alcoholics, and anyone stuck in the “gray area” of alcohol use.
Each episode blends neuroscience, behavior change psychology, and real-world strategies to help you build peace with alcohol — past, present, and future.
You’re not broken. You’re not powerless. You just need new tools.
Less alcohol. More life. Let’s do it together.
New episodes every Monday & Thursday.
Becoming an alcohol minimalist means:
Choosing how to include alcohol in our lives following low-risk guidelines.
Freedom from anxiety around alcohol use.
Less alcohol without feeling deprived.
Using the power of our own brains to overcome our past patterns and choose peace.
The Alcohol Minimalist Podcast explores the science behind alcohol and analyzes physical and mental wellness to empower choice. You have the power to change your relationship with alcohol, you are not sick, broken and it's not your genes!
This show is intended for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice. If you are physically dependent on alcohol, please seek medical help to reduce your drinking.