Sooo… you probably clicked on this article because you’re at least somewhat concerned about your alcohol intake, or that of someone you love. Well, findings from the University of Cambridge suggest that unless your diet is made up of primarily hard liquor in the absence of food, you’re probably at least as healthy as the general population regardless of your above-average alcohol consumption.

It’s the daily alcohol mood boost that generally puts drinkers ahead of the pack in terms of mental health and sleep quality, which results in heightened overall well-being. When the brain is having a good time, it sends happy signals throughout the body which provide a placebo healing effect two times more beneficial than prayer to a deity, the study found. In addition, while REM sleep does take a slight hit, the lack of anxiety during the falling asleep process more than makes up for that loss simply by increasing time spent unconscious.

The study conducted among mild to heavy drinkers with a massive sample size of 2,673 people between the ages of 18 to 80 concludes that basically no matter how much you drink, as long as you fulfill your daily nutritional requirements, you’re statistically as healthy as teetotallers who also maintain adequate nutritional intake.

People who enjoy 2-4 drinks per day report being happier, on average, than those who report drinking less than that by a margin of 27%. These findings, combined with those related to sleep quality and longevity, suggest that people who get a buzz on daily whilst maintaining a balanced diet are generally more healthy than the population at large. Livers can heal, but being lame has more serious health consequences it seems (or no benefits at the very least).

So the next time you’re feeling unwell, try downing a bottle of wine and getting some much needed rest. After sleeping it off, you’ll feel more refreshed than you ever could have otherwise.

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