The Psychology Behind Sunnyside

Every day, tens of thousands of people use Sunnyside to build mindfulness around their alcohol consumption so they can get even more out of life. Members become more aware and accountable through our psychology-backed system, which is built upon  three  key pillars proven to drive lasting behavior change. Those pillars are:

1. The Power of Pre-Commitment

2. The Power of Conscious Interference

3. The Power of Belief and Positivity

Here’s an overview of how each of these powers comes to life within the Sunnyside experience, and how they work to help you reach — and maintain — your healthier drinking goals.

The Power of Pre-Commitment

Each Sunday night, our members plan their upcoming week either by accepting the recommended plan we text them or by creating their own. Our algorithm is designed to gradually reduce your drinks week after week, based on your starting point, your personal goals, and your progress over time.

The act of mindfully creating a plan for your week creates an accountability roadmap, consolidates decision making, and provides a moment to pause and think about your intentions.

In psychology, “pre-commitment” refers to a strategy or a method of self-control that you can use to restrict the number of choices available to you at a future time.

Pre-commitment is a technique that can be applied  in many situations, such as  committing to payments on a bank loan, committing to live in an apartment for the duration of a lease or even signing up for a year-long gym membership.

When you plan your week and choose daily drink targets, you reduce the number of decisions you need to make each week. Instead of having to choose whether or not to drink each day, you've got a handy plan for  the  day that helps keep you accountable at points when willpower may be diminished — like after a hard day of work.

As you track drinks, your pre-committed plan also gives you a frame of reference to keep you accountable to your goals. Our members find comfort in being strategic around their drinking and knowing what to expect.

Pre-commitment has proven effective in modifying or stopping specific behaviors, such as smoking and drinking. We leverage this proven behavioral tactic to help members  be more intentional about their alcohol consumption each and every week.

The Power of Conscious Interference

If you have ever had the feeling that you can't stop when you're drinking (or you simply don’t want to stop); if one drink often turns into two drinks which turns into three or  more, know that you're not alone.

The rush of endorphins you get when you're drinking can decrease your inhibitions and makes some people feel really good. It's understandable that you’d want to keep that feeling going and it’s natural to think that continuing to drink will help you maintain that high. But for many members, they have found this just isn't the case. After a certain point, they don't feel good anymore and they’re not having fun.

Enter the power of conscious interference — creating a mindful pause between each drink to reflect on how you feel, and think consciously about whether or not you really want the next one.

Pausing to text Sunnyside allows our members to do a few useful things in the moment that they might not take time to do otherwise, such as:

• Take account of how much they have drank so far

• Reflect on how continuing to drink might affect them

• Receive encouragement to slow down or stop from our automated system and/or a coach

These moments of conscious interference open up a world of opportunity for our members. By pausing, they can make simple changes like having water or a snack, pouring out a drink or reaching out to a friend for distraction— or a coach for motivation to slow down. These seemingly small actions can make a big impact  when it comes to our members reaching their goals.

Some members use the moment of reflection for deeper thought, like revisiting the  reasons they set a particular goal or completely leaving certain situations. The choice is entirely up to our members and we're glad to create a new space for them to have a meeting with themselves and realign on what's important to them.

Each time you text in a drink, the confirmation we send will tally your total for the day and give you a reminder of where you are relative to your goal. This enables you to visualize where you are for the day while keeping in mind where you'd like to stop. Visualization is a powerful tool for reaching goals. By sending a reminder of your goal with each additional tracked drink, we help reinforce the commitment you've made to your health and wellness.

The Power of Belief and Positivity

At Sunnyside, we're committed to creating an upbeat, positive environment for our members to feel safe and supported on their journeys. Our coaches never judge, and we are always happy to provide a positive perspective and strength-based motivation. In addition, we set you up to be your own biggest cheerleader by reminding you of the importance of adopting a positive mindset and practicing self-compassion. 

A review of 79 studies capturing the responses of more than  16,000 volunteers found that “people who have a positive and caring attitude … toward her- or himself in the face of failures and individual shortcomings” tend to be happier and more successful in reaching their health improvement goals.

Another study found that people’s tendency to blame, along with how much they ruminated on a problem, could almost completely mediate common factors associated with depression and anxiety. Being anxious and depressed can inhibit productivity and growth. Working to maintain a positive outlook is a way to be mindful of the effect your emotions can have on your actions.

Changing your mindset can change your experience of an otherwise difficult task or event. That is especially important when it comes to modifying behavior around drinking. Our members can better navigate the ups and downs of learning to drink mindfully when they're kind and understanding of themselves.

Sunnyside's automated responses have built-in affirmations, pick-me-ups and celebrations for your wins. When you reach a milestone on money saved, calories avoided or number of good sleep nights added, we're sure to let you know and pat you on the back. Having social support has been proven to help reduce drinking so our coaches are also standing by ready to give you a virtual high-five  or extra appreciation for your successes!

Through these three powerful pillars, our members make changes to their habits that last for the long-term. As a result, they sleep better, avoid tons of calories, wake up to brighter mornings, have more energy and often experience lower anxiety. The investment is more than worth it! 

Read about more benefits here.