- Taking a 30-day break from drinking alcohol can provide several health benefits.
- Among the biggest benefits, your risk of cancer and heart disease may decrease.
- You may also experience improved sleep quality.
Many people participate in “dry January” and take the month off from drinking alcohol to reset after the holiday season.
If you need a break from alcohol, going alcohol-free for a month or more can bring about many physical and mental health benefits.
“The benefits can vary from person to person depending on how much of a change from their baseline behavior this is,” Rekha B. Kumar, MD, medical director of the American Board of Obesity Medicine, told Healthline.
Kumar explained that someone who drinks minimally but abstains from alcohol for a month “might feel a sense of control over their health or feel a sense of accomplishment from achieving a set goal.”
Meanwhile, others who drink heavily “might notice more pronounced physiologic effects, such as more mental clarity, better sleep, weight loss, and feeling the ‘detox’ sensation, in addition to achieving a set goal,” she noted.
Amitava Dasgupta, PhD, medical director of clinical laboratory at the University of Kansas Medical Center and author of the book “The Science of Drinking,” agreed.
Dasgupta said that for social and moderate drinkers, participating in a month-long break won’t make much difference to their bodies. However, for people who exceed recommendations in the
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The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that alcohol should be consumed in moderation — one drink per day or less for females and two drinks per day or less for males.
Yet the World Health Organization (WHO)
Whether you drink moderately, frequently, or excessively, taking a month off from alcohol can help your body in the following ways.
Repaired liver damage
Cirrhosis of the liver (severe scarring of the liver) can occur over time in those who drink excessively.
“It doesn’t happen in a day, but for anyone who drinks in excess, which again is more than two drinks a day for men, and one a day for women, there are fatty changes in the liver, so when you stop drinking, those changes are reversible, and the liver can become normal again,” said Dasgupta.
Because the liver is a tolerant organ, he said positive changes can occur within weeks of “going dry.”
Kumar added that in the absence of alcohol, “the liver can focus on its other jobs, such as breaking down other toxins produced by the body, metabolizing fats and excess hormones that need to be broken down.”
Lower risk of heart disease
Alcohol is
“When it’s
On the other hand, if you drink in moderation, alcohol doesn’t affect LDL and instead
“Drinking one or two glasses of wine once or twice a week has some health benefits, especially for men over 40; it reduces risk of cardiovascular disease… for women you can get those benefits anytime, it’s not age-dependent,” Dasgupta said.
Still, newer
Other studies, such as
“[The bottom line] is, protect the heart with [a]
In addition, some racial and ethnic groups may face greater health risks from alcohol consumption than others.
For instance, Dasgupta cited research he conducted on the relationship between genetics and alcohol misuse. He noted that people of Chinese and Indian descent do not benefit from drinking alcohol due to a genetic reason that isn’t fully understood.
For anyone concerned about heart health, Dasgupta recommended decreasing alcohol intake and increasing physical activity, which also raises good cholesterol.
Reduced risk of cancer
The National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lists alcohol as a known human carcinogen in its
The report states that a person’s risk of developing alcohol-associated cancer increases with the more alcohol they drink regularly over time.
Alcohol consumption has been
Data from 2013 estimated that about 3.5% of cancer deaths in the United States were alcohol-related.
Some research suggests that even moderate drinking may raise cancer risk.
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Weight loss
Excess alcohol consumption may cause weight gain, which means that cutting out alcohol could lead to weight loss for some people.
While alcohol is high in calories, and wine, beer, and mixed drinks add sugar to one’s diet, Kumar said that simply cutting it out may not always help you lose weight.
“Again, depends on what the baseline alcohol consumption is,” she said.
“If heavier drinkers remove alcohol for a longer period of time, they might see weight loss, improvement in body composition, less stomach fat, improvement in triglycerides (one of the fat particles in the blood),” she said.
Depending on the person, Kumar said she sometimes suggests cutting back on alcohol to lose weight.
“I have recommended completely eliminating alcohol for weight loss as a trial for some patients who have optimized all other aspects of their life (diet is pristine, exercise is maximal, sleep is adequate, stress is managed) to see if they are particularly sensitive to the weight-gaining effects of alcohol,” Kumar noted.
“For instance, many women around menopause report gaining weight from alcohol much easier than they did prior to menopause.”
However, if you’re banking on a month-long break from alcohol to help you lose weight, Kumar said it’s not your best bet.
“I would suggest cutting back on several things rather than completely eliminating to avoid feeling deprived, which can lead to rebound eating/drinking and weight regain,” she said.
Improved brain health
Dasgupta said the best people to avoid alcohol always are those under 21 years old, and not just for legal reasons.
“There’s a reason why the legal age of drinking is 21 years. Teenage and college drinking is a huge problem. It can cause memory loss and interference with brain development. For college students, being dry is the best thing to do,” he said.
The same goes for those with alcohol use disorder or a family history of it.
Better sleep
While many think drinking alcohol before bed will help them nod off and stay asleep, it’s quite the opposite.
Research from 2014 shows that drinking large amounts of alcohol before bedtime leads to decreased sleep onset and disrupted, poor-quality sleep later in the night.
For those with alcohol misuse and dependence, the conditions are connected to chronic sleep disturbance, lower slow-wave sleep, and more rapid eye movement.
According to American Family Physician, about half of the people who have alcohol use disorder (AUD) who suddenly stop or cut back on alcohol consumption will develop signs or symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
These withdrawal symptoms occur due to the overactivity of the central and autonomic nervous systems.
Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal might
- headache
- elevated blood pressure
- palpitations
- hyperreflexia (increased or overactive reflex response from muscles)
- gastrointestinal upset
- nausea and vomiting
- anxiety
- agitation
- insomnia
- tremors
- hallucinations
In severe cases of withdrawal when symptoms are not treated, a person may experience generalized tonic-clonic seizures, delirium tremens, and even death.
In addition to the health benefits, stopping drinking for any amount of time automatically saves you money.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2019, the average household spent $579 per year on alcohol, which is around 1% of their annual income.
If you add in the costs of drinking in social settings at restaurants, bars, and clubs, the amount might be more.
Plus, add in things like paying for transportation to avoid driving under the influence, and now you might be paying out even more.
Yes, it can. If you drink in excess, cutting out alcohol for a period of time can help your liver, heart, and body composition. However, the benefits vary from person to person.
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, alcohol should be consumed in moderation — up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.
According to American Family Physician, about half of people who have alcohol use disorder (uncontrolled drinking and preoccupation with alcohol) who suddenly stop or cut back on alcohol consumption will develop signs or symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Symptoms can range from headache, elevated blood pressure, heart palpitations, and nausea and vomiting to tremors, hallucination, and in severe cases, death.
Possibly. While alcohol is high in calories, and wine, beer, and mixed drinks add sugar to one’s diet, cutting it out may or may not help you lose weight, depending on how much alcohol you consume regularly.
30 Days of Winter Wellness
Day 4
How can I start to cut back on alcohol this month?
- First, get a sense of how much you are currently drinking by keeping an honest alcohol consumption diary for a set period of time, like a full week.
- Next, understand how much alcohol would be harmful to your health. Consult with a doctor and review our intake recommendations.
- Find set days in the week to avoid alcohol if you need to lower your consumption to be in line with the recommended guidelines. Alternatively, try a complete break from alcohol for a set period of time – like 30 days.
- Have fun by exploring alternatives to alcohol you enjoy – whether those are drinks marketed as 0% alcohol drinks, soft drinks, or mocktails, or whether those are activities you could do instead of sitting down for a drink.
Catch up on Day 3 of the challenge to boost your vitamin D levels through your diet this winter.