{"podcast":{"title":"Journey to the Sunnyside | Mindful Drinking & Alcohol Health","slug":"journey-to-the-sunnyside-mindful-drinking-alcohol-health-6796606","podcast_index_feed_id":6796606,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/journey-to-the-sunnyside","website_url":"https://www.sunnyside.co","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/qNwOM3E63mZeaWTP8w9JvEUtP49g_n1dWVr_Oqcdk1Y/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQ5Nzc2LzE3MDc5/NjA2MDEtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.jpg","author":"Sunnyside","episode_count":279,"summary":"Exploring the science of drinking less, from alcohol cravings and habit change to moderation, naltrexone, and building a healthier relationship with alcohol. Whether you're sober curious, cutting back, or thinking about quitting, this podcast meets you where you are. Journey to the Sunnyside is a top 1% podcast reaching over 500,000 listeners every week. Through expert interviews, neuroscience research, and real stories, we cover what actually works — mindful drinking, behavior change, medication-assisted approaches, harm reduction, and more. Hosted by Mike Hardenbrook, #1 best-selling author and neuroscience enthusiast. Brought to you by Sunnyside, the leading program for changing your relationship with alcohol. Start your free trial at sunnyside.co. Disclaimer: The views expressed in our episodes do not necessarily represent those of Sunnyside. If you're concerned about your drinking, please consult a medical professional. This podcast is not medical advice.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-11T02:20:59.915661+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/journey-to-the-sunnyside-mindful-drinking-alcohol-health-6796606"},"episode":{"title":"Is It Too Late to Undo the Damage?","slug":"is-it-too-late-to-undo-the-damage","published_at":"2026-07-13T13:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/journey-to-the-sunnyside-mindful-drinking-alcohol-health-6796606/is-it-too-late-to-undo-the-damage","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/journey-to-the-sunnyside-mindful-drinking-alcohol-health-6796606","url":"https://share.transistor.fm/s/2864f463","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/media.transistor.fm/2864f463/2b2c0910.mp3","summary":"If you’ve been drinking more than you want to for a while, you may quietly wonder whether the fog, memory changes, and lack of energy are permanent. In this episode, Mike breaks down what the research actually shows about brain recovery, how quickly change can begin, why life may feel flat at first, and whether cutting back still helps if you don’t quit completely. The good news: your brain is still responding to what you do next. Research & Resources NIAAA: Neuroscience – The Brain in Addiction and Recovery A great overview from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism explaining how alcohol affects the brain, neuroplasticity, reward, stress systems, executive function, and what recovery looks like. NIAAA: Alcohol and the Brain – An Overview An accessible summary of how alcohol changes brain structure and function over time. Brain Recovery Durazzo TC, Stephens LH, Meyerhoff DJ. Regional cortical thickness recovery with extended abstinence after treatment in those with alcohol use disorder. Alcohol. 2024. One of the strongest MRI studies showing measurable recovery of cortical thickness during recovery. Mentioned in the NIAAA review. Powell A, et al. Recovery of neuropsychological function following abstinence from alcohol in adults diagnosed with alcohol use disorder: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. PLOS ONE. 2024. Reviews improvements in attention, executive function, memory, and other cognitive abilities over time after abstinence. Reduction (Not Just Abstinence) World Health Organization (WHO) drinking-risk reduction analyses. Multiple studies have shown that moving from higher-risk drinking to lower-risk drinking is associated with improvements in sleep, physical health, liver-related measures, blood pressure, quality of life, and da…","meta_description":"If you’ve been drinking more than you want to for a while, you may quietly wonder whether the fog, memory changes, and lack of energy are permanent. In th…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":573,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/journey-to-the-sunnyside-mindful-drinking-alcohol-health-6796606/episodes/is-it-too-late-to-undo-the-damage/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/journey-to-the-sunnyside-mindful-drinking-alcohol-health-6796606/is-it-too-late-to-undo-the-damage.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}