Dry January: What happens to my body without alcohol? – 01/26/2024 – Balance

The holiday season is a time of celebration, which often involves large amounts of alcohol. So it’s no surprise that an estimated 15 to 19 percent of adults in the United States in recent years have committed to participating in Dry January, or “Drynuary,” in an attempt to redeem themselves for their December choices and, hopefully, detox. their livers a little.

There’s little research into what exactly a month without alcohol can do for your health. And the benefits will depend on how much and how often you drank before, says Danielle Dick, professor and director of the Center for Addiction Research at Rutgers University.

But, says Dick, we know that alcohol has numerous and varied effects on the body, “so presumably, regardless of how much you drink, you’ll see improvements in many areas.”

YOU WILL FEEL WORSE – AND THEN BETTER

If you’re a regular drinker, a sudden change in your habits may make you feel worse at first, not better, says Sara Jo Nixon, a cognitive neuroscientist and director of the Center for Addiction Research and Education at the University of Florida.

“You get irritable, a little depressed,” says Nixon. This is in part because alcohol lowers levels of stress hormones, making you feel calm while drinking — but after you stop, the hormones rebound and rise to higher levels than before.

If you experience symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, especially those that are severe such as confusion, hallucinations, fever or seizures, it’s important to see a doctor, says Duncan B. Clark, a psychiatrist who studies substance use at the University of Pittsburgh.

People who drink alcohol excessively daily or almost daily — that is, men who drink five or more drinks or women who drink four or more drinks in about two hours — should not suddenly stop drinking without first discussing it with a doctor, he says. Clark.

However, people who drink less heavily will likely start to feel better after a few days of sobriety. Although alcohol helps you fall asleep faster, it harms the overall quality of your sleep. By not drinking, you’re likely to wake up every morning feeling more rested, says Nixon.

Alcohol is dehydrating, so avoiding it can also reduce headaches and fatigue and improve the appearance of your skin, says Aitzaz Munir, an addictions psychiatrist at Rutgers University New Jersey School of Medicine.

The more you drink, the more likely you are to have sexual function problems. By cutting out alcohol, your sex life may also improve, adds Clark.

YOUR HEART AND LIVER WILL THANK YOU

Research suggests that moderate to heavy alcohol consumption increases blood pressure and can cause blood vessel damage and abnormal heart rhythms, says Clark. Alcohol also increases blood levels of potentially harmful particles called free radicals, which can raise LDL, or “bad cholesterol,” adds Munir.

Once you stop drinking, “these free radicals begin to be removed from the body and this improves heart health,” says Munir. “All these benefits begin to occur from the first day after the last drink.”

Excessive alcohol consumption can also harm your liver, increasing your risk of liver disease, so a period of abstinence can help your recovery.

“As soon as a person stops drinking, liver enzymes begin to decrease, and within a month or two they return to normal levels if there is not too much damage,” says Munir.

BENEFITS BEYOND DRY JANUARY

As for whether these benefits will persist if you start drinking again in February — that depends. If you start drinking the same amount as you did before, it’s unlikely you’ll experience long-term health benefits from Dry January, Dr. Clark said. But your month of abstinence will likely lower your tolerance, so you won’t need to drink as much to feel like you did before you stopped, Dr. Clark added. And you might not even want to. Among other things, Dry January can help people understand how much they drink and why. Quitting often leads people to ask themselves, “Why am I drinking this much? Does this play a role in how I feel? Do I think I need this?” Dr. Nixon explained. Dry January also helps break ingrained drinking habits, such as having a glass of wine every day after work. A study published in 2016 found that even six months later, people in Britain who had taken part in Dry January drank alcohol on average one day less per week and consumed almost one less drink per day than before the break. In other words, beyond the immediate health benefits, Dry January can help you break bad habits, reflect on the role alcohol plays in your life — and give you the opportunity to make healthier choices even after January is over. .

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