I was curious whether the type of alcohol actually matters for recovery, not just drinking vs. not drinking. So we looked at 2,600+ nights of sleep and cardiovascular data. What stood out: • Any alcohol strains cardiovascular recovery (↑HR, ↓HRV) • HRV: liquor and wine decreased HRV the most per drink (−3.8%, −3.6%) • HR: mixed drinks increased HR the most per drink (+2.0%) • Beer had the smallest impact, but it was still measurable, with HR increasing by ~1.2% and HRV down by ~1.6% Mixing alcohol types lowered HRV more than beer alone (−3.0% vs. −1.6%). The surprising part: Most people felt "fine" the next morning, even when HRV dropped by up to 15% (after 4 drinks).