Dry January’s health benefits and how to take an alcohol break : Life Kit : NPR
Exercise boosts serotonin and dopamine in the brain, and a quick shot of both will make the happy chemicals release, and you won’t want to drink. If you’re trying to shed a few pounds, keeping that goal in mind can be great a list-topper for why you’re quitting booze. People drink for a variety of reasons, Koskinen notes, but “stress-management and social connections” tend to top her clients’ lists. Haddish went on to state that for her, abusing alcohol went hand-in-hand with her poor decisions to sleep with certain men. If you recall, the singer hasn’t gone public with another relationship since her brief romance with rapper Common ended in 2021.
- If you’re experiencing severe symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, be sure to talk to a healthcare provider.
- All that sugar (a drug in its own right), combined with the pleasure of feeling “buzzed” can break down our filters and release suppressed thoughts and feelings.
- If you determine you need help with a drinking problem, the NIAAA Treatment Navigator provides information about treatment options, including telehealth and online mutual support.
- But you don’t have to wait for a designated month to take a break from alcohol.
“There is early evidence that even taking a one month break from fairly low levels of consumption reduces some burden on the liver,” White says. These symptoms peak within 72 hours, but people with serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms should work with a healthcare provider as the experience can be fatal. As the New Year rolls in, many people examine their lifestyle choices, including their relationship with alcohol. These observations often lead to New Year’s resolutions, such as participating in “Dry January.” Dry January is a health and wellness trend that emphasizes https://ecosoberhouse.com/ for an entire month. This break gives you a chance to evaluate your relationship with alcohol and allows you to gain an understanding of what is motivating you to drink and how it is impacting your life. If you drink alcohol heavily for weeks, months, or years, you may have both mental and physical problems when you stop or seriously cut back on how much you drink.
Participating in Dry January? Here are tips for success.
So, SELF connected with experts to find out what actually happens to your body when you go sober. If you’ve decided to take a break from drinking alcohol, you’re not alone. Breaking the booze habit, whether it’s for 30 days or longer, has its benefits. Generally, I feel more secure and happier without alcohol — largely because I recall that my times with alcohol weren’t always merry, and I feel my health has improved without it. This sober curious movement is relatively new, and scientists are just beginning to study the health effects of taking a short break from alcohol. Here’s NPR’s Allison Aubrey with what researchers have learned so far.
- In our alcohol-centric society, it sometimes feels uncomfortable when everyone around you is drinking and your own hands are empty.
- If you’re not sure if your drinking crosses a certain line or not, try measuring your alcohol intake.
- Following the breakup, Haddish faced “cancellation” after she and her fellow comedian Aries Spears were accused of grooming children in a lawsuit that ultimately ended with a settlement.
- You may tell yourself that nothing is different and your family is just being paranoid or picking on you.
- You know, write down these things in a journal or just in the memo section of your phone.
They won’t make you feel intoxicated like alcohol but they may make you feel happier and more relaxed. If you’re taking part in an event like FebFast, encourage your friends and family to sponsor you. Not only will it be good for the charity you are supporting, but it can make you more accountable. Setting a quit date is linked to success in sticking to your plan. It helps you prepare and reflect on the reasons making a change is worthwhile, which can improve your commitment to change. Alcohol is high in sugar, so when you quit it, you may find yourself reaching for other sugars (this was definitely the case with me).
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The insights gained while taking a break from alcohol can help guide better choices moving forward. Her anecdote fits with a study of about 850 people who volunteered to abstain from alcohol for one month. 62% reported “better sleep” and about half reported they lost some weight. Many of the participants said they had more energy, which fits with the experience of listener Sarah Black Sadler. “The biggest thing that I noticed is that I don’t need alcohol to have a good time with my friends.” The alcohol withdrawal timeline varies, but the worst of the symptoms typically wear off after 72 hours.
If a friend isn’t supportive, it may be time to assess that friendship. It’s OK in moderate amounts — which means no more than 1 drink a day for women — no more than https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/6-ways-to-take-a-break-from-drinking-alcohol/ 2 per day for men. Rachel Kazez, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist with All Along, says to begin with some basic questions to get a little perspective.
Monitor your drinking
There are many resources available to help, including peer support groups, counseling, therapy, and inpatient rehabilitation. This can be especially important if you experience withdrawal symptoms upon trying to quit, says Stewart. “It is also important to notice what happens to your emotions when you stop alcohol use. If you have been using alcohol to manage difficult or uncomfortable emotions or experiences, those emotions will intensify shortly after you quit using. In these cases, it is important to seek professional help to address and resolve those difficulties,” she adds. When you begin to rethink your relationship with alcohol, your friends and family may not be on board — especially if those are some of the people that you used to drink with.
- Unfortunately, sometimes those same people can feel judged by your changing relationship with alcohol, which is why it is important to begin by setting boundaries with the people in your life who still drink.
- “The findings of these studies are actually very surprising,” White says.
- That’s why many of us wonder if a month of avoiding drinking is enough to “reset” your liver back to normal.
- Events like FebFast can encourage and support these good intentions.
- Think of it as giving your liver a little boost in the right direction.
Maybe you just want a break, or university, parental, academic or legal pressures have come to light, or you believe you just need to cut back. Regardless of the reason and goal, 30 days of abstinence is the best way to start. Even if the goal is to cut down, abstinence can assist with lowering tolerance to ease moderation of use, and your body could use the break. This site is meant to assist you through 30 days of not drinking.
After 3 Days Without Alcohol
When you finish the 30 days, you can make the decision to continue not drinking or to moderate your use. If your vacation from alcohol is temporary, proceed with caution when you start drinking again. “Even moderate drinkers who stop drinking for two months tend to overdrink when they start again,” Dr. Koob says. Nobody really knows why, he says, but it seems to be some kind of overcompensation for the time you lost. It may be that your drinking habits calm down after the novelty of celebrating a month or two of sobriety wears off, but Dr. Koob says it’s important to keep it on your radar so you can avoid overdoing it. “Viruses won’t be caused by alcohol, but you can be more vulnerable to them if you’re drinking,” he says.
Sans Bar has become so popular that Marshall took the concept on the road this year. He organized pop-up bars in Washington, D.C., New York and Anchorage, Alaska. And he has opened new sober bars in Kansas City, Mo., and western Massachusetts. After one month, the researchers documented a reduction in the participants’ GGT. The members of this club work out, have demanding jobs and simply don’t want to feel foggy or hungover anymore.
