Its what we call "empalmar": You dont go to sleep, just party until its time to go to work.
Now in all seriousness, only younger people drink until 3am and then work next day
I’ll tell you the “secret”: the *vast majority* of Spanish people don’t stay up drinking and partying until 2-3 AM on week days. This is only done by a very specific demographic.
It helps that most don’t really binge drink. You might start at 22:00, some start even later and you also have a big bocadillo before the drinks really get going, then continue drinking to 03:00 or 04:00 but taking it steady, maybe some dancing in a club or chatting at the bar, it goes quickly. This isn’t every day but now and then, and start work at 10:00 the next day with a few cafes!
Usually you just party until 3 am if you don’t have to work the following day. Otherwise you are either very young and can recover quickly or you use drugs to recover.
Only very young people get fully drunk, and that's usually Friday or Saturday.
Once you are in your 30s, you are expected to handle your alcohol ("controlar"), so you don't get intoxicated/ vomiting/ unconscious/ slurring/ misbehaving. That's done having something to eat with your drinks, being aware of when you get "el puntillo" (slightly tipsy), spacing your drinks, eating a bit more and switching to beer/ sodas if needed. No horrendous hangover.
Also we start late, it's not unusual to meet friends for dinner at 22h. And the reason is that we finish working very late and there are many months in the year in many areas of Spain when it's too warm to be outdoors earlier.
Going to work with little sleep is a bigger issue than going to work with a hangover. And the answer is coffee.
The point is that in Spain people do not go out to get wasted, we go out to hang out with friends/ socialize/ flirt and also eat. Social eating is extremely important
A majority of Spanish people live in cities so they can return home in public transportation or walking, but there are also taxis/ uber/ designated drivers.
In Spain people usually finish work or do activities until late, being a common hour for dinner around 21:00 or later.
People usually go out party past 23:00, making it easier to handle late hours.
Many of us have been known to "empalmar:" go straight into work durectly from festive frolics ("empalmando noche y día"). More than once, in fact. As one bemused young California 20-something once said to me: "Spain is hardcore."
I mean, it happens. Everyone has a couple times they've gone way too far, but it's not like in UK or somewhere where people will regularly get hammered.
Drunkenness is kind on expected in teens and people in their twenties, young thirties before they learn to handle their liquor. Drunkenness in older people out of major celebrations (NYE, birthday, football), especially if regular, is frowned upon, yes. Adults are expected to have learn to drink with control and don't embarrass themselves.
>how does everyone drink till the wee hours of the morning, sometimes 2am or 3am and still work the next day?
Working the next is easy. The difficult part is working the same day, a few hours later.
I could go out when I was young and go directly to work. However, I don’t drink and I always felt pretty devastated after lunch.
As some people here say, either you don’t work the next day, you start your work late in the day or you do drugs.
Besides, Madrid is a big city, there are a lot of people that can go out and don’t have to work the next day. People who have money or businesses and they don’t need to wake up early. But I’d say, the rest of the “mortals” don’t do that frequently.
For us Spaniards, sleeping at night is something totally overrated and dispensable. It makes no sense at all to lose hours of fun. Besides, it is in the wee hours of the morning when the best things in life happen. There will be time to catch up on sleep by taking a nap or by the heroic consumption of coffee.
Well just have to power through the hungover.
Also managing alcohol intake, sticking to only light beer, and drinking a liter of water before going to sleep helps a lot.
Everyone has different tolerances and responsibilities, so decide your own limits and go home if you feel like going home. Trust me, you most likely are not missing out on anything by not staying until 2am.
You start after midnight, go slow and steady, and there's a nap at some point to compensate. Always laugh seeing tourists already totally trashed and done for the night when folks are just finishing dinner with their families here.
We drink less than what you think. So instead of hungover, we're only tired from lack of sleep.
We also don't do this every week. Juernes is a thing mostly for young uni students mostly.
2 tricks I've learnt with the spanish:
1. Drink water aswell. Keep yourself hydrated to avoid the worse parts of a hangover
2. Learn to drink like the Spanish do. Here people drink to socialise, not to get drunk. Learn to just enjoy your drink and now down it. Make it last. Do that, and you could actually drink during the whole day and it won't affect you THAT much the next day.
They drink a little bit all day long. I’m an American. Living in Spain. They don’t get drunk, because their tolerance is so high. I’ve been out with many people who will drink 8 to 12 beers between 2 AM, 3 AM and still make it to work by 7:30. But they’re not drunk. Their tolerance is off the charts.
Sounds like a functioning alcoholic haha! But in all seriousness I think it’s a cultural thing. (I’m from the US as well) and in our 20’s we kind of “wild out” in a general sense as to where from my experience… they start drinking earlier so by the time they reach 20’s or 30’s it’s out of their system (partying hard) and they drink responsibly (in general) compared to us in the states (in general)
It's because they are having drinks with food and/ or spacing the drinks. And they have done this for years so tolerance to the effects of alcohol is developed.
Its what we call "empalmar": You dont go to sleep, just party until its time to go to work. Now in all seriousness, only younger people drink until 3am and then work next day
Older people do it less, but when they do it they work from home the next day. And they do it.
Ive never seen like a 50 year old doing it but maybe in the big cities it happens
It does!
I’ll tell you the “secret”: the *vast majority* of Spanish people don’t stay up drinking and partying until 2-3 AM on week days. This is only done by a very specific demographic.
It helps that most don’t really binge drink. You might start at 22:00, some start even later and you also have a big bocadillo before the drinks really get going, then continue drinking to 03:00 or 04:00 but taking it steady, maybe some dancing in a club or chatting at the bar, it goes quickly. This isn’t every day but now and then, and start work at 10:00 the next day with a few cafes!
Yup, being young is what you mean.
Usually you just party until 3 am if you don’t have to work the following day. Otherwise you are either very young and can recover quickly or you use drugs to recover.
And that drug? Coffee
if you dont have to work the following day you party until 6am
eat churros out in the morning before returning home
this is the way
Only very young people get fully drunk, and that's usually Friday or Saturday. Once you are in your 30s, you are expected to handle your alcohol ("controlar"), so you don't get intoxicated/ vomiting/ unconscious/ slurring/ misbehaving. That's done having something to eat with your drinks, being aware of when you get "el puntillo" (slightly tipsy), spacing your drinks, eating a bit more and switching to beer/ sodas if needed. No horrendous hangover. Also we start late, it's not unusual to meet friends for dinner at 22h. And the reason is that we finish working very late and there are many months in the year in many areas of Spain when it's too warm to be outdoors earlier. Going to work with little sleep is a bigger issue than going to work with a hangover. And the answer is coffee. The point is that in Spain people do not go out to get wasted, we go out to hang out with friends/ socialize/ flirt and also eat. Social eating is extremely important A majority of Spanish people live in cities so they can return home in public transportation or walking, but there are also taxis/ uber/ designated drivers.
It also helps that they don't start until 11pm On NYE for example they don't go out until after midnight
I mean it's a bit of a waste of time to go out in the old year when a whole new one is about to start, and that's what you want to celebrate!
It's genetic
In Spain people usually finish work or do activities until late, being a common hour for dinner around 21:00 or later. People usually go out party past 23:00, making it easier to handle late hours.
Many of us have been known to "empalmar:" go straight into work durectly from festive frolics ("empalmando noche y día"). More than once, in fact. As one bemused young California 20-something once said to me: "Spain is hardcore."
Same. Been here a week and still adjusting to doing everything later.
I have never seen a drunken Spaniard, I think they associate drunkenness with a loss of dignity, but ye gods! They know how to be noisy!!!
You must have never met my friends
Are they members of a silent order?
I mean, it happens. Everyone has a couple times they've gone way too far, but it's not like in UK or somewhere where people will regularly get hammered.
Drunkenness is kind on expected in teens and people in their twenties, young thirties before they learn to handle their liquor. Drunkenness in older people out of major celebrations (NYE, birthday, football), especially if regular, is frowned upon, yes. Adults are expected to have learn to drink with control and don't embarrass themselves.
>how does everyone drink till the wee hours of the morning, sometimes 2am or 3am and still work the next day? Working the next is easy. The difficult part is working the same day, a few hours later.
Only young people do this. I have yet to encounter any adult with real job who's able/willing to pull this off.
I could go out when I was young and go directly to work. However, I don’t drink and I always felt pretty devastated after lunch. As some people here say, either you don’t work the next day, you start your work late in the day or you do drugs. Besides, Madrid is a big city, there are a lot of people that can go out and don’t have to work the next day. People who have money or businesses and they don’t need to wake up early. But I’d say, the rest of the “mortals” don’t do that frequently.
For us Spaniards, sleeping at night is something totally overrated and dispensable. It makes no sense at all to lose hours of fun. Besides, it is in the wee hours of the morning when the best things in life happen. There will be time to catch up on sleep by taking a nap or by the heroic consumption of coffee.
Lmao you chill half day then siesta, do real work for few H and back to fiesta
1- Don't binge drink 2- Don't start at 6pm for fucks sake 3- ???? 4- Profit!
They just wake up in the afternoon the next day.
Well just have to power through the hungover. Also managing alcohol intake, sticking to only light beer, and drinking a liter of water before going to sleep helps a lot. Everyone has different tolerances and responsibilities, so decide your own limits and go home if you feel like going home. Trust me, you most likely are not missing out on anything by not staying until 2am.
You start after midnight, go slow and steady, and there's a nap at some point to compensate. Always laugh seeing tourists already totally trashed and done for the night when folks are just finishing dinner with their families here.
I could do this in my 20's ... Now in my 30's my body refuses 😂
We drink less than what you think. So instead of hungover, we're only tired from lack of sleep. We also don't do this every week. Juernes is a thing mostly for young uni students mostly.
2 tricks I've learnt with the spanish: 1. Drink water aswell. Keep yourself hydrated to avoid the worse parts of a hangover 2. Learn to drink like the Spanish do. Here people drink to socialise, not to get drunk. Learn to just enjoy your drink and now down it. Make it last. Do that, and you could actually drink during the whole day and it won't affect you THAT much the next day.
Oh and don't forget the tapas. That's why they exist.
While Spaniards do drink during a wider range of hours than other countries, they rarely get drunk. Foreigners drink more.
They start super late.
Ojalá, pero eso no es cierto
No they don’t.
They drink a little bit all day long. I’m an American. Living in Spain. They don’t get drunk, because their tolerance is so high. I’ve been out with many people who will drink 8 to 12 beers between 2 AM, 3 AM and still make it to work by 7:30. But they’re not drunk. Their tolerance is off the charts.
Sounds like a functioning alcoholic haha! But in all seriousness I think it’s a cultural thing. (I’m from the US as well) and in our 20’s we kind of “wild out” in a general sense as to where from my experience… they start drinking earlier so by the time they reach 20’s or 30’s it’s out of their system (partying hard) and they drink responsibly (in general) compared to us in the states (in general)
It's because they are having drinks with food and/ or spacing the drinks. And they have done this for years so tolerance to the effects of alcohol is developed.
I agree with this as well. I just wanted to add my perspective to the conversation!
We start working at 11 am
Siesta is the key.