Podcast
Journey to the Sunnyside | Mindful Drinking & Alcohol Health
Hosted by Sunnyside · EN
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.
33episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Stop Negotiating With Your Cravings for Alcohol
6d ago00:13:48Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I’m digging into alcohol cravings and one of the biggest traps people fall into when they’re trying to cut back: negotiating with the urge. Maybe just one. Maybe only tonight. Maybe I’ll reset tomorrow. We’ll look at why cravings can feel so convincing in the moment, what’s happening in the brain and body when the urge to drink shows up, and how a simple practice that can help you pause without fighting yourself. This isn’t about being perfect or forcing yourself into an all-or-nothing approach. It’s about building the skill of noticing a craving, riding it out, and making a more mindful choice that actually supports your goals.CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnysideTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnysideABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol health app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.We now offer Sunnyside Med, a new program that provides access to compounded naltrexone, a medication that can reduce alcohol cravings at the brain level, offering a more clinical pathway for people who need it. Sunnyside Med is a complete, holistic approach to help you drink less or quit, including coaching, community, habit change, education, and more to help you create longterm change while the medication does its work.Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.
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The Reset Loop Behind Overdrinking
1w ago00:10:23Tap to summarizeMost people trying to drink less focus on the drink. But for a lot of high-functioning people, that's only half the pattern. There's a whole cycle underneath it. You overdo it, you feel off, you recommit, you clean things up, you get that "I'm back" feeling. Then slowly, without really noticing, it starts again. And because life isn't falling apart - you're still working, still parenting, still showing up - it's easy to miss. You're not in crisis. You're just spending a lot of energy recovering from the same thing over and over. In this episode I want to talk about why the reset can feel so rewarding, how the comeback itself can become part of what keeps you stuck, and how to start making the swings smaller without needing everything to be perfect. The goal isn't to get better at starting over. It's to build something you don't have to keep starting over from.CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnysideTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnysideABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol health app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.We now offer Sunnyside Med, a new program that provides access to compounded naltrexone, a medication that can reduce alcohol cravings at the brain level, offering a more clinical pathway for people who need it. Sunnyside Med is a complete, holistic approach to help you drink less or quit, including coaching, community, habit change, education, and more to help you create longterm change while the medication does its work.Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.
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Why We Obsess Over "Figuring Out" Alcohol
2w ago00:14:22Tap to summarizeA lot of people think the hardest part about changing their drinking is the alcohol itself. But honestly, for a lot of people, the real exhaustion comes from the constant mental negotiation around it. Should I quit drinking completely? Can I moderate? Am I overthinking this? Why does it feel so hard to “figure out” alcohol when everyone else seems fine?In this episode, I explore why our brains become obsessed with finding a perfect, permanent answer around drinking, and how that search for certainty can actually keep us stuck. I talk about the psychology behind all-or-nothing thinking, why the idea of “forever” creates so much pressure, and how a harm reduction approach can create more clarity, self-trust, and lasting change. If you’ve ever felt mentally exhausted trying to figure out your relationship with alcohol, I think this episode will feel very familiar.We also discuss: mindful drinking alcohol moderation gray area drinking overthinking and alcohol all-or-nothing thinking sobriety anxiety harm reduction alcohol and mental health changing your relationship with alcohol the pressure to quit drinking forever CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:Listen to the Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3 Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnyside TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnysideABOUT SUNNYSIDE:Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol health app that helps you drink more mindfully without shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Members use Sunnyside to reduce drinking, improve sleep, increase energy, lose weight, save money, and build a healthier relationship with alcohol.We know an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone. That’s why we focus on helping people set personalized goals, build awareness around their habits, and create sustainable change through accountability, coaching, tracking, and community support. As a result, 96.7% of members reduce their drinking within 90 days.We also offer Sunnyside Med, a program that provides access to compounded naltrexone for eligible members. Naltrexone is a medication that may help reduce alcohol cravings and support people who want additional clinical tools alongside behavior change, coaching, education, and community support.Disclaimer: This podcast is not medical advice, and the views expressed by guests may not reflect the views of Sunnyside. If you have concerns about your health or alcohol use, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
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Systems Over Willpower w/ Noom CMO Dr. Jeffrey Egler
3w ago00:41:04Tap to summarizeIn part two, Sunnyside co-founder and CEO Nick Allen continues his conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Egler, Chief Medical Officer at Noom, with a deeper focus on behavior change. They get into why willpower usually fails, how systems and structure make habits easier to sustain, and why tracking, micro habits, community, and even medication can help create momentum. If you’ve ever struggled to make healthier choices stick, this episode offers a more practical way to think about lasting change.CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnysideTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnysideABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol health app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.We now offer Sunnyside Med, a new program that provides access to compounded naltrexone, a medication that can reduce alcohol cravings at the brain level, offering a more clinical pathway for people who need it. Sunnyside Med is a complete, holistic approach to help you drink less or quit, including coaching, community, habit change, education, and more to help you create longterm change while the medication does its work.Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.
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The Strange Grief of Drinking Less
3w ago00:11:18Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we dig into the strange grief that can show up when you start drinking less. Not regret. Not a craving exactly. More like the quiet feeling of missing something you’re genuinely glad you changed. We’ll look at why alcohol can become woven into your rituals, identity, stress relief, celebrations, and even the future you quietly imagined for yourself. And why feeling some sadness along the way doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It just means something real is changing.CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnysideTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnysideABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol health app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.We now offer Sunnyside Med, a new program that provides access to compounded naltrexone, a medication that can reduce alcohol cravings at the brain level, offering a more clinical pathway for people who need it. Sunnyside Med is a complete, holistic approach to help you drink less or quit, including coaching, community, habit change, education, and more to help you create longterm change while the medication does its work.Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.
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Why Humans Crave Altered States
3w ago00:14:50Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Mike digs into what anthropologists found after studying altered states across 400+ societies, why your brain can start moving toward relief before you even pour a drink, and how to tell the difference between a habit that enhances your life and one that has quietly become a requirement. From music and movement to the five o’clock pull toward a drink, this episode offers a different way to understand what you’re actually looking for when the urge hits.CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnysideTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnysideABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol health app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.We now offer Sunnyside Med, a new program that provides access to compounded naltrexone, a medication that can reduce alcohol cravings at the brain level, offering a more clinical pathway for people who need it. Sunnyside Med is a complete, holistic approach to help you drink less or quit, including coaching, community, habit change, education, and more to help you create longterm change while the medication does its work.Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.
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Healthy Aging: A Doctor’s Perspective on Living Better, Longer w/ Noom CMO Dr. Jeffrey Egler
4w ago00:25:34Tap to summarizeDr. Jeffrey Egler is the Chief Medical Officer at Noom, where he helps lead the company’s expansion from weight loss into healthy aging and longevity. In this conversation with Sunnyside co-founder and CEO Nick Allen, Dr. Egler breaks down what “living better, longer” actually means, and why the future of health may be less about waiting for disease and more about building health earlier. They talk about alcohol, sleep, movement, nutrition, stress, behavior change, and why small lifestyle shifts can matter more than extreme biohacking.CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnysideTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnysideABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol health app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.We now offer Sunnyside Med, a new program that provides access to compounded naltrexone, a medication that can reduce alcohol cravings at the brain level, offering a more clinical pathway for people who need it. Sunnyside Med is a complete, holistic approach to help you drink less or quit, including coaching, community, habit change, education, and more to help you create longterm change while the medication does its work.Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.
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The 5-Minute Reset That Keeps You On Track
May 700:10:40Tap to summarizeSunnyside helps you track, plan, and stay accountable, but the numbers are only part of the story. In this episode, I’ll show you how a quick daily reset can help you understand what’s happening underneath your drinking patterns, prepare for triggers, and make your plan feel more personal. This is how mindful drinking becomes something you practice in real life.CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnysideTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnysideABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol health app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.We now offer Sunnyside Med, a new program that provides access to compounded naltrexone, a medication that can reduce alcohol cravings at the brain level, offering a more clinical pathway for people who need it. Sunnyside Med is a complete, holistic approach to help you drink less or quit, including coaching, community, habit change, education, and more to help you create longterm change while the medication does its work.Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.
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When Drinking Gets Hard, Write This Down
May 400:10:47Tap to summarizeWhen old patterns start pulling at you, it helps to have something deeper than a vague goal to come back to. In this episode, I’ll walk you through a simple statement of purpose that can help you reconnect with why you want to change and who you’re becoming along the way. This is a practical reset for the moments when mindful drinking feels harder than expected.CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnysideTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnysideABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol health app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.We now offer Sunnyside Med, a new program that provides access to compounded naltrexone, a medication that can reduce alcohol cravings at the brain level, offering a more clinical pathway for people who need it. Sunnyside Med is a complete, holistic approach to help you drink less or quit, including coaching, community, habit change, education, and more to help you create longterm change while the medication does its work.Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.
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The Breathwork Reset for Stress, Shame, and Anxiety w/ Jon Paul Crimi
Apr 3000:50:51Tap to summarizeJon Paul Crimi is a former celebrity trainer and sober coach turned breathwork teacher who has worked with CEOs, Olympians, and Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy winners. In this episode, Jon Paul shares how his own struggles with addiction, identity, anger, and shame led him to breathwork, and why that first experience changed everything. He and Mike talk about emotional detox, the feelings we push down, and why so many of our habits, including drinking, can become ways to escape what we haven’t fully processed. Jon Paul also explains circular breathwork, why it can feel so powerful, and how breathwork can help release stress, anxiety, shame, and emotional buildup in a way that talking alone sometimes can’t reach.CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnysideTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnysideABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol health app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.We now offer Sunnyside Med, a new program that provides access to compounded naltrexone, a medication that can reduce alcohol cravings at the brain level, offering a more clinical pathway for people who need it. Sunnyside Med is a complete, holistic approach to help you drink less or quit, including coaching, community, habit change, education, and more to help you create longterm change while the medication does its work.Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.
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