Episode 22 Wine O’Clock Isn’t the Answer—Here’s Why

In this episode of The Anchored to Wellness Show, we’re getting honest about the end-of-day ritual:

Wine.
 Sugar.
 Netflix.
 Scrolling.

And what it’s actually telling you.

This isn’t about blame.
 It’s about signals.

Because if your nightly wind-down is the only way you can “turn off,” your body isn’t weak—
 your resiliency tank is low, and your nervous system is asking for support.

🧠 In this episode, we unpack:

• Why we reach for it
  The ritual that says “I made it”—and why it’s become normalized 
• What’s happening underneath
  Cortisol rhythm, blood sugar swings, sleep architecture, HRV 
• The dependency loop
  How short-term relief quietly drains tomorrow’s capacity 
• Resiliency > willpower
  How Reset → Repair → Rebuild restores calm, focus, and steady energy 

No shame.
 No extremes.
 Just physiology you can work with—and small shifts that rebuild capacity over time.

✨ Stop managing symptoms. Mend the mess. Rebuild your resiliency. Reclaim the Real You.

🧠 Your Next Step (Start Here)

👉 The Weight, Energy & Stress Reset Guide ($9.99)
A simple, structured way to begin stabilizing your energy, calming your nervous system, and reducing that end-of-day crash—without overwhelm. Click Here to grab yours.

🔬 Want to Understand Your Stress + Energy Patterns?

👉 Adrenal Optimization Test (AOT)
If you feel wired at night, exhausted during the day, or stuck in a stress loop—this test shows you exactly what your cortisol rhythm is doing. Click Here to order your test.

👉 Mineral Analysis (HTMA)
For deeper insight into long-term stress patterns, nervous system load, and metabolic resilience. Click Here to order yours.

🌿 Deeper Support

👉 Memory Momentum Method
Support your brain, focus, and long-term cognitive resilience with a structured, root-cause approach. Click Here to learn more.

👉 The Anchored Journey (1:1 Care)
A personalized, lab-driven roadmap to help you restore your metabolism, hormones, and brain—with expert guidance every step of the way. Click Here to learn more.

🛍️ Support Your Body

👉 Get Healthy Store (Practitioner-Grade Supplements)
Targeted support for stress, sleep, energy, and nervous system regulation. Shop Here

📩 Stay Connected

👉 Dr. Kacey’s Corner (Weekly Newsletter)
Weekly tools, insights, and real talk to help you feel more steady, clear, and in control. Click Here for your weekly dose.

It’s not about having more willpower.
 It’s about having more capacity.

And that’s something you can rebuild.

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If you would like to watch this in video format,  it is available on YouTube.  Be sure to subscribe Watch Here

 Disclaimer: The content provided in The Anchored to Wellness Show is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey there, wellness warriors. Welcome to the Anchor to Wellness Show, your compass in the sea of holistic health. I'm Casey Wallace, and I'm your passionate advocate for vibrant well-being. And after witnessing countless patients caught in the cycle of sick care model, I became really disenchanted with the conventional healthcare system. It's a system where people aren't truly getting better, they're just simply managing symptoms. But I refuse to accept this as the norm, and I'm determined to shift the paradigm from sick care to well care. I have embarked on a journey into the realms of functional medicine and holistic health. And in each of these episodes, we will dive deep into the latest research, debunking myths, and unlocking the secrets to optimal wellness. From brain health to hormone balance, we'll cover it all with a blend of science, soul, and a dash of controversy. Together, we're making waves to reclaim control of our health destiny and anchor ourselves to wellness. So whether you're seeking clarity on brain fog or ready to reclaim your vitality, you're in the right place. So let's make waves and set sail towards a life anchored in wellness. Okay, so picture this. It's five o'clock, you've made it through another long day, you've been pulled in a dozen directions, your patience is thin, and your brain feels like it's running on fumes. You're exhausted, and all you want is something that signals, okay, I can finally excel now, right? We've all been there. For some of us, that's a glass of wine. For others, it might be just collapsing onto the couch with some Netflix or grabbing something sweet or scrolling on your phone until bedtime. And I'll be honest, I have been there too. I would reach for that nightly glass of wine because it felt like the only way to turn off the day, to turn off my brain. But what I quickly realized is that it was affecting my sleep. It was leaving me more wired and tired and keeping my nervous system stuck in overdrive. So let me be clear. This is not about judgment. You're not weak, you're not doing something wrong. What you're experiencing is actually your body sending you a signal. It's saying, I am tapped out. I'm stretched past capacity. I need relief. And wine or sugar or Netflix, whatever it is for you, becomes the quick ritual that gives you that moment of escape. And the problem is that escape, it doesn't actually solve the deeper issue. It doesn't refill your resiliency tank. It masks the mess underneath. And that's what I want to unpack in today's episode. Why we reach for these things in the first place? What's really happening in the body when we do, and how to recognize these patterns. They're signals, they are not flaws. So let's talk about why we reach for these things, especially sometimes wine in the first place. So let's pause and get really honest. Why do we reach for this? Why do we reach for a glass of wine in the first place? It's not always about the taste, it's about the pause. That moment when the chaos of the day finally slows down and you can signal to yourself, I made it, I survived another day, now I can excel. For many women, men too, wine becomes more than a drink. It becomes a ritual, a line in the sand between stress and rest, between giving to everyone else and finally having something for yourself. And our culture has reinforced that from the memes and the coffee mugs to the mommy juice jokes. We've normalized the idea that a glass of wine is the self-care moment we've earned at the end of the day. Now, let me say this. I don't believe that having wine is inherently bad. And occasionally a glass of wine with dinner or in a celebration moment, it's not the problem. It's when it becomes the default coping mechanism, that nightly rituals. If it's the one thing we lean on, if it's just giving us a momentary relief, that's when we have to stop and pay attention because the truth is it's not the wine itself that's the real issue. That's just showing us there's a signal. That glass is telling us something deeper. Your body and your brain are overextended, your nervous system is tapped, and you are craving restoration. It's when it becomes that nightly default. Again, that's when we have to realize it's something we're leaning on to cope, and that's when it starts working against us. It's not just the wine. For some of us, it is Netflix, it's scrolling, it's sugar, it's endless snacking. None of those are evil on their own, but they're signals. They are your body's way of saying, I'm tapped out, I need a reset, I need a rhythm that's restored for me. I know that because I've lived it for a season. I found myself, I was reaching for wine most nights as my way to unwind. It started to become feeling like a ritual that helped me turn my day off. But when I started paying attention to my own health metrics, things like how long it took my heart rate to recover at night or what my heart rate variability was showing, I couldn't ignore what was happening anymore. My nervous system was not calming down. In fact, the wine was keeping me stuck in that wired but tired state. What I thought was helping me relax was actually preventing me from moving forward in my own healing journey. That's when I began to see it differently. The wine wasn't really the problem, it was a signal. And once I stopped numbing that signal and started listening to what my body was really asking for, that's when things begin to shift. So while it's not about judgment, I'm not judging, right? We can't ignore the reality either. Wine and alcohol in general, it does affect the nervous system. It disrupts rhythms, it alters hormone loops, and it impacts your abilities, body, to truly repair overnight. And if we don't recognize that, we can miss what our body is really asking for that balance and calm and resiliency. That's why I want you to hear this differently today. Reaching for wine isn't a character flaw, it's a signal. It's your body's way of saying, I need help, I need space, I need something more than survival. And when we numb that signal instead of addressing it, we find ourselves stuck in that same cycle tomorrow and the day after that. So that's inherently more what the problem is. Okay. So let's talk about what's really happening in the body. Let's pull back the curtain, see what's really happening, or when we do something like these nightly rituals that are not the healthiest, I'm not saying they're bad to do them occasionally or whatever, but we just have to recognize the signal, the sign of what it's telling us, what is the red flag that's being waved. If this is how we're coping with something deeper, we have to recognize that. In the short term, these things, especially alcohol, it can feel like calm. It can numb, it can soothe, it can slow the system down just enough that you feel like you've finally come down from the day. But underneath the surface, that surface calm that you're feeling, your physiology is actually in chaos. Alcohol will spike your blood sugar and then it drops hard. That crash is one of the biggest reasons so many people find themselves waking up at two or three o'clock in the morning, wired, anxious, and restless. It disrupts our cortisol rhythm. Cortisol, you've all heard about it, is our body's main stress hormone, our natural energy regulator. And when alcohol throws it off, or sugar, whatever, okay, the whole hormone loop feels like a ripple. Insulin, thyroid hormones, estrogen, testosterone, they all get pushed off rhythm. And then there's our sleep. While alcohol may knock you out quickly, research does show it cuts into our deep restorative sleep. And that is a stage where our brain clears toxins, our hormones reset, and our bodies repair. Studies are consistently showing that even moderate alcohol intake decreases slow wave sleep, it lowers our heart rate variability, which is not good, and it increases our nighttime stress responses. I've seen this in my own health data. My heart rate variability dropped so low. My recovery tank was terrible, and my nervous system stayed stuck in that wired but tired pattern, all from what I thought was helping me unwind. So the end result, you don't wake up refreshed, you wake up groggy and foggy and irritable, you wake up already behind the eight ball, right? What feels like relief at night is actually draining our resiliency tank while we sleep. Over time, that cycle leaves you not only more fatigued, but also more prone to cravings and weight gain and mood swings and brain fog. And we cannot ignore the bigger picture either. Alcohol has been linked to increased risk of chronic disease, including breast cancer and other cancers. Even small regular amounts raise estrogen levels in a non-healthy way and can influence cell changes over time. If you've listened to me long enough, you know I talk so much about cell health. And I'm not saying here that alcohol is forbidden. I do enjoy an occasional drink myself, but once I realized how much it was disrupting my system and how terrible I felt afterwards and the day after, even just one drink, I knew I couldn't keep making it that nightly ritual and expect to heal. So here's the truth alcohol doesn't refill your resiliency tank. It pokes holes in the bottom of that tank. And when we keep repeating the cycle, our nervous system, our hormones, and our brain never get a chance to restore. So let's talk a little bit more about the cycle of dependency. Here's the thing: wine o'clock hour, sugar o'clock hour, scrolling o'clock hour, late night Netflix. None of these usually start as a problem, right? They're just something we do, it's fine, whatever. They start as small rituals and it's a way to take the edge off of that stressful day. But over time, they can create this metabolic mess, this crazy cycle that we can get in. Here's what that pattern looks like. Our stress builds all day. By evening, we hit a wall, we reach for wine or sugar or the screen. In that moment, it feels like relief, but underneath your physiology is taking a hit, your cortisol rhythm is getting scrambled up, your blood sugar spikes and crashes, and your sleep is completely wrecked. And by morning, you wake up already depleted and foggy and irritable and craving more caffeine or more sugar or whatever. And by the time evening rolls back around, you're even more primed to just repeat the same ritual. That's why I don't call this addiction. It's not that. It is a dependency, a dependency on a coping loop that leaves you more depleted each day. The more you rely on it, the more you feel like you need it because your body never fully restores itself. And here's the kicker: scrolling your phone at night, snacking on sugar, pouring that glass of wine, all work on the same brain chemistry. They give you those little dopamine hits, those tiny jolts of feel good that train your brain to crave them even more. But the hidden cost is steep. Stubborn weight that won't budge, hormones that feel out of control, focus that slips, mood swings you can't explain, feeling that your body is betraying you, and maybe worst of all, snapping at the people you love when what you really want is to show up calm and present. And then we immediately feel like, oh man, why did I just snap at them? That's why this cycle feels like a such a trap because what promises relief is actually perpetuating the entire mess. And what you're reaching for isn't bad in and of itself, but when it becomes the default, it keeps reinforcing the very symptoms you're trying to escape. And I want you to hear this clearly. If you're stuck in this pattern, it's not a character flaw, it's not a weakness, it's physiology, it's your nervous system, your hormones, your metabolism. They're all sending up signals that they need repair. And once you can see the cycle for what it is, you can finally stop blaming yourself and start recognizing the truth. These rituals aren't the solution, they are a signal. So let's talk through what resiliency is and why I like to talk so much about resiliency. Let's zoom out, look at this through the lens that really matters. That is resiliency. Resiliency is your body's ability to adapt and recover and stay steady under stress. It's what allows you to bend without breaking, to get knocked down by challenge and bounce back stronger, to maybe not get so angry if somebody cuts you off in traffic, whatever that is, okay? I believe it is the ultimate marker of health. More important than weight or cholesterol numbers or anything like that, or even how many miles you log at the gym, think of it this way: if your chronological age is how many birthdays you've had, your biological age is how well your body is actually functioning. I've seen women in their 40s who have the resilience of someone in their 60s because their systems are depleted. And I've seen people in their 60s whose resiliency markers like their heart rate variability, their sleep cycles, and their energy recovery, they look decades younger because their systems are steady and strong. That's resiliency and action. But here's the truth wine, it doesn't build resiliency. None of these things we've talked about build resiliency because they're putting you in an endless perpetual cycle. It breaks down our resiliency because resiliency lives in our control systems, our nervous system, our metabolism, our hormones, our brain. Those systems thrive on rhythm and restoration. And when that wine or sugar or endless scrolling becomes the ritual, it interrupts those rhythms. Instead of repairing your stress response, it scrambles it. Instead of supporting your hormones, it derails them. Instead of restoring your brain, it leaves you foggy and reactive. What looks like relief in the moment is actually poking holes in your resiliency tank. It's leaving you less able to recover the next day. And I know this may sting a little because these rituals feel comforting, but I want you to hear it as hope, not shame. If wine isn't the answer, that means there is one. Your resiliency isn't gone, it hasn't disappeared, it's waiting to be rebuilt. This is exactly why I teach reset, repair, rebuild. That's a sequence. We start by resetting our rhythm so our nervous system and energy loops finally calm down. Then we repair the roots, our gut brain flow, our hormone balance, our inflammatory load, and finally we rebuild resiliency. So your capacity to adapt and recover expands instead of contracts. That's the real solution. Not another glass of wine, not another Netflix binge. Resiliency is the superpower your body is craving. And the best part is it's already inside you. You just have to give your system the right conditions to access it again. So as we wrap this up, I want to circle back to something really important. If you've been leaning on wine or sugar or scrolling or late night shows to cope, it doesn't mean you're broken. It doesn't mean you're weak. It means your body is sending you a signal. Those cravings, those rituals, those just one more moments are your body's warning lights flashing, asking for help. And here's the good news signals are not shame. Please don't be shameful. Okay, we all get in our shame, but signals are information. They point you exactly where you need to start. Instead of ignoring them or numbing them, we actually can use them as the roadmap back to healing. I see this every day in people I work with. One person came in exhausted, irritable, and foggy, snapping at her kids by dinner time, and she was collapsing into the same nightly cycle. But once we identified her patterns, especially her cortisol rhythm through further lab testing, she made just a few small shifts, adjusting her protein timing, changing her sleep window, cutting out some of these things we've already talked about, adding in some nervous system practice. And within just a few weeks, she was amazed. She wasn't perfect, she wasn't doing everything at once, but her energy steadied, her sleep was starting to deepen, and she was starting to feel like herself again. Small changes sequence the right way lead to big shifts. And that's why I am putting more things into place to make testing more accessible. That's why I've created the adrenal optimization test. It's an at-home test. It maps your cortisol rhythms throughout the day. It looks at your DHEA, which is a key marker for resiliency reserve. And when cortisol has no buffer, your stress feels unmanageable. It continues these cycles, it continues you reaching for the wine and the sugar and all those things. When DHEA is depleted, your body cannot recover. Seeing those patterns on paper is incredibly validating. It shows you why you feel the way you feel. It gives us a clear first step to rebuild. I'm gonna put the link below to that. But remember, this isn't about perfection. It's about capacity. You're not broken, you're rebuilding, you're reclaiming your resiliency, reclaiming the real you. Confident in your body, present in your relationships, and clear in your mind. Confident, present, focused. So if tonight you find yourself reaching for that glass of wine, just take a moment of inventory. Why are you reaching for it? Is there something celebratory or what's going on? Or are you using it to cope? Okay, what is the reason behind it? The sugar, the scrolling, what are we doing that for? Pause and remember it's a signal. It's not necessarily a flaw, right? It's not a flaw. And when you start listening to those signals, you can finally begin the journey back to steady, calm, and resilient you. Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Anchor to Wellness Show. Together, let's anchor ourselves to a life of vibrant well being. Until next time, take care, stay curious, and embrace the journey to holistic vitality. Stay anchored and stay well.