The Lost Art of Drinking Wine at Breakfast

A resurfaced clip shows Kevin O’Leary saying wine three hours before bed disrupts sleep by reducing REM, and recommending drinking in the morning instead. The clip went viral with headlines claiming he drinks wine at breakfast, despite his comment being about timing rather than a personal routine. In Newark Airport, travelers drink alcohol early, including martinis and other cocktails, suggesting airport culture ignores personal rules about drinking times. The question becomes whether morning alcohol is worth pursuing on days without flights. A physician, Dr. Martin Feuer, states that from a health point of view it does not make any difference when alcohol is consumed.

"“This is my biggest weakness-I love wine,” he says on Logan Paul's vodcast, Impaulsive. “But if you drink wine three hours before you go to bed, you really screw up your sleep. You get no REM. The best thing to do is get up in the morning and drink.” Paul and his co-hosts roar with approval, then O'Leary adds, “I haven't gotten to that place yet.”"

"The clip is three years old, but by some trick of the algorithm it's resurfaced and gone viral, inspiring social media users and media outlets to declare: “Shark Tank Star Kevin O'Leary Reveals He Drinks Wine at Breakfast.” He didn't reveal that, actually, but why let the facts get in the way of a good story?"

"I was thinking about the clip as I rolled through Newark Airport recently. Americans are drinking less than any time on record, but you wouldn't know it at the nation's airports, where travelers are bellied up to the bar at 7 am, slugging wine, beer, and cocktails. Ahead of my 7:30 am flight, I saw a middle-aged woman sitting by herself sipping a martini. I was impressed."

"Of course, any self-imposed rules about drinking-not before 5 pm, never alone, whatever-cease to exist once you pass through TSA. The plane is boarding in 30 minutes? Do whatever the hell makes you happy. But what about O'Leary's idea that you should drink at breakfast when, you know, you don't have a flight to catch? On, say, a regular Tuesday?"

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