As Steven Bartlett Says Wine 'Ruined His Life'—Top Psychologists Question Our Obsession With Optimisation

Unless you've been absent from social media, you'll know that our feeds are lit up right now with hot takes on Steven Bartlett's latest claims. No stranger to causing controversy, the entrepreneur turned self-proclaimed wellness guru has ignited fury (once again) by asserting on his Diary of A CEO podcast that a night out drinking (two glasses of wine, to be precise) 'ruined' his life for three days.

Everyone from celebrities to wellness influencers has been weighing in. Somewhat surprisingly, given the intense current trend to optimise our health at every turn, there's been a backlash, with the majority agreeing that this is a case of biohacking gone too far.

Missed it? Here's the gist. "I had a couple of glasses of wine, [and while] I didn’t get drunk, it ruined three days of my life because of the domino effect it caused," he says on his podcast. "I got worse sleep that night and ate more poorly the next day... because my dopamine system or cortisol system or whatever was all messed up. Then I podcasted worse, and I didn’t go to the gym the day after, and I could track all of this on my Whoop [wearable tech], hashtag ad, hashtag sponsor, investor... whatever."

Our relationship with alcohol is a complex one; on the one hand, the facts are clear: alcohol does us very little good, health-wise. Research (such as this recent 2026 study, published in the journal Nature Health) shows a consistent link between alcohol consumption and negative health outcomes, with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, liver disease, stroke and cancers, to name a few.

This being said, there will always be a strong argument for moderate and balanced drinking as part of a healthy social life, as referenced by studies (like this one, from the journal Nutrients) showing a correlation between small amounts of red wine and a decrease in stress markers and cardiovascular risks.

But the crux of the Bartlett furore is (much) less about the dos and don'ts of alcoholic consumption, and entirely about our fixation with optimisation culture. Should it really be the case that a couple of social drinks on a night out with friends is the cause of an avalanche of self-flagelation and regret? Certainly, it must sting to be the mates with whom your (albeit temporary) downfall is associated, right?

So, should we be concerned about this potentially damaging trend of black-and-white thinking around health habits? Keep scrolling for the experts' take on (over) health optimisation. And don't miss out our guides to the top wellness trends of 2026, the best Scandi fitness hacks, our favourite Blue Zone living Mediterranean health tips and healthy ageing habits, while you're here.

Steven Bartlett's claims have raised an important debate health optimisation - the experts take

What is health optimisation?

Over the past few decades, our understanding of health and wellness has undergone a radical transformation. Largely due to advances in tech, we now have the ability to track, monitor and assess almost every aspect of our lifestyles, in a bid to be the healthiest version of ourselves we can possibly be.

This, in a nutshell, is health optimisation. "Optimisation culture is the belief that almost every aspect of our lives can be measured, improved and maximised," explains Dr Ritz Birah, consultant counselling psychologist, expert speaker and founder of Reflect with Dr Ritz. "We track our sleep, monitor our recovery, count our steps, measure our productivity and increasingly look for ways to gain an edge."

You're likely either wearing a tracking device (Oura rings, Whoop bands, Apple watches) or you know someone who is. Our algorithms are locked in: you can't scroll for a moment without a barrage of ultra-luxe, aesthetically appealing tech wearable-related content.

Scratch the surface of the trend, and it's easy to see why it's taken off: as humans, our default is to want to improve, evolve and grow - something optimisation culture taps firmly into. After all, who doesn't want to be better?

"The idea here is that we are all on a journey of continual ‘optimisation’, improving different aspects of our lives to make us ‘better’ in some way," agrees counsellor Georgina Sturmer. "More productive, more effective, more successful, fitter, healthier, wealthier, wiser. Better colleagues, parents, partners, children, friends. It’s almost as if workplace productivity and wellness had some kind of hybrid lovechild."

Are there any benefits to health optimisation?

Now, we're not saying for a moment that investing time, money and energy into improving our health and wellbeing is wrong. Knowledge is power, and nowhere is this more relevant than when it comes to our health.

"The benefits of health optimisation are real," advises Dr Birah. "Optimisation can encourage healthier habits, greater intentionality and improved awareness of behaviours that influence our wellbeing."

It's also something that makes us feel connected and fosters a sense of community - albeit largely online, as chartered psychologist Dr Rachel Evans explains.

"A big benefit is feeling like you’re part of a community, which people might feel like they’re lacking in this digital age," she tells MC UK. "Additionally, society tends to reward or praise determination and dedication – being part of self-optimisation culture is a way to show you have those traits."

We can't deny the feeling of near-euphoric excitement when we close those activity rings/upgrade our resilience rating/achieve a sleep crown. Not only are these great for physical health, but they can help to enhance mental health, too.

"You can derive a huge sense of satisfaction and pride in achieving your goals, which can encourage people to set even more specific or tougher challenges, making it intrinsically motivating," shares Dr Evans.

Why is health optimisation so prevalent right now?

Wondering why this kind of perfectionist thinking is so widespread right now? The reasons are manifold, but modern life has created the perfect petri dish for optimisation culture to thrive.

"Arguably the biggest reason is tech," shares coaching psychologist and health expert James Davis. "We have easy access to affordable devices that will measure and track for us, so self-tracking is easier than ever. We don’t need to go to a health professional; we can track it all ourselves."

He continues: "Going hand in hand with that is the rise of social media. This has normalised comparison and made us competitive over our scores - we’re exposed daily to messages suggesting we could be healthier, wealthier, more productive, more resilient, and more successful."

Finally, from a psychological perspective, he also points out that we’re in an age of uncertainty. "Tracking our personal metrics gives us a sense of perceived control, which can be comforting."

Not forgetting the mercenary element to our fixation on wellness - it's human nature to want to grow and evolve. Social media has well and truly capitalised on this instinct. When we're made to feel that we are less than, research shows that we spend money. New clothes, new gadgets, new ways to track and motivate ourselves - you name it, we can be convinced that we need it. It's no surprise, then, that tech companies are rubbing their hands with glee over our collective obsession with optimising every aspect of our lives.

What are the drawbacks of health optimisation?

Let's be clear: anything that actively encourages us to be healthier and happier is undoubtedly a good thing, but herein lies the rub: there's a tipping point where optimisation turns from a healthy challenge and aspiration into yet another stick to beat ourselves with.

Bartlett's admission about how his alcohol intake affected his week is telling, as it's clear that he is berating himself for supposed weak or poor choices. But the fact is, we're human - and the pursuit of perfection is not only impossible, but it's also not a particularly healthy goal, either.

"Excessive optimisation can fuel perfectionism, anxiety, burnout, and self-criticism," cautions Davis. "There's the risk that people can become so focused on measuring life that they forget to actually experience it. Think: are you running because you enjoy it or because you feel like you should? Is your run ruined if your device didn’t track it?"

In effect, optimisation culture has created an environment where we feel we'll never truly measure up, and that only ends one way: in failure.

"The challenge with striving for ‘optimisation’ - or perfection, by another name - is that it’s never truly attainable," agrees Sturmer. "This can leave us feeling frustrated or dissatisfied, or worse, it might leave us feeling ashamed or self-critical. Optimisation feels like a socially acceptable form of perfectionism. And the difficulty with perfectionism is that it can leave us feeling less happy, less fulfilled, more overwhelmed - and ironically less perfect - than when we started."

Even the most stoic among us can lose sight of the real value and joy of just being when we relentlessly measure, share and compare our metrics, Dr Birah cautions. "Human beings are not machines," she warns. "We are complex, emotional and relational creatures. Yet much of optimisation culture encourages us to think of ourselves as systems to upgrade rather than people to understand."

Put simply: we all have off days, weeks or even months, and the danger with all-or-nothing rhetoric like Bartlett's is that we struggle to allow ourselves the grace to accept this and move on.

"Life should be about joy and feeling good enough, being self-compassionate, not self-critical," shares clinical psychologist and host of podcast Psychology, Actually, Dr Marianne Trent. "It's also about balance. Self-acceptance and the ability to tolerate not being perfect can be so very important to our overall sense of wellbeing."

What's driving the move away from strict health optimisation?

It's clear from the response to Bartlett's post that there's a backlash against highly prescriptive, rigorous health optimisation routines and protocols, despite our fascination with ideas such as biohacking, longevity and healthier ageing.

"My hope is that people are beginning to recognise that optimisation and wellbeing are not the same thing," shares Dr Birah. "The most psychologically minded people I meet are not those who optimise every moment. They are the people who have developed a strong relationship with themselves; the goal is not to become perfectly disciplined but rather to develop the ability to watch yourself."

It probably won't surprise you to hear that, as always, the benefits with any kind of health 'maxxing' trend lie somewhere in the middle. When it comes to drinking (or indeed many other lifestyle factors), there will always be people who can handle a few drinks and operate pretty well the next day, while others (hi, it's us) tend to struggle with fatigue, low energy and a dip in mood.

"It's worth considering that alcohol, nicotine and unprescribed drugs are all coping strategies," notes Dr Trent. "If over time you can learn more adaptive and functional ones, then in the long term your body and your mind are likely to thank you for it."

Only you know how you personally respond - and the experts are clear that the key to healthy and balanced health optimisation is to understand yourself and how your body works.

"Knowing yourself in this way requires a different skill altogether, one I like to call 'brainflossing'," shares Dr Birah. "Consider whether you have the ability to observe your thoughts rather than being automatically driven by them. For example, can you notice when your body genuinely needs eight hours of sleep and honour that, and are you also able to recognise when staying up late talking with a friend, celebrating a milestone or sharing a bottle of wine with your partner is a worthwhile trade-off?"

So, rather than perfection, what we should be striving to achieve is resilience, according to the experts.

"In many ways, resilience looks less like optimisation and more like a rubber band," Dr Birah states. "There are times when we need structure, discipline and routine. There are also times when we stretch, adapt and embrace spontaneity. The strength comes from our ability to move between the two."

TLDR? Opt for meaning over metrics. "Instead of asking, 'How can I get the maximum performance from my life?' perhaps we should be asking, 'What kind of life am I trying to create?'," Dr Birah muses. "Those are very different questions, where one tends to lead us towards metrics and the other tends to lead us towards meaning."

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