Cravings Increase After Quitting Drinking and Peak Around 60 Days Sober and 6 Months Sober (E270)
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You probably expect that the more sober time you have, the less you crave alcohol. That’s true for some people, but others experience an effect called incubation of craving. This is where cravings build up over time and peak around 60 days, then again around 6 months sober. In this episode, I’ll explain the research on incubation of craving, what you might experience, why this happens, and what you can do to stay sober.
What to listen to next:
E231: Everything You Need to Know About Alcohol Withdrawal
E247: Sober Sleep is the Best Sleep, But Not Right Away
E249: Alcohol and Cortisol: Increased Stress and Cravings
E265: Rewiring Your Reward System After Getting Sober
E266: What Happens After Dry January?
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• Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life
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• Sober milestones: what to expect when you quit drinking
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Listen here. The episode will automatically load in your preferred podcast listening app.
Cite:
Gillian Tietz. Cravings Increase After Quitting Drinking and Peak Around 60 Days Sober and 6 Months Sober (E270). Sober Powered. 2025
Please respect my intellectual property and properly credit me if you share my work.
Sources
Mayhugh, R. et al. Differing patterns of stress and craving across the day in moderate-heavy alcohol consumers during their typical drinking routine and an imposed period of alcohol abstinence. PLOS ONE. 2018
Venniro, M. et al. Factors modulating the incubation of drug and non-drug craving and their clinical implications. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2022
Kerstetter, K. et al. Protracted time-dependent increases in cocaine-seeking behavior during cocaine withdrawal in female relative to male rats. Psychopharmacology. 2008
Treloar Padovano, H., & Miranda, R., Jr. (2021). Incubation of alcohol craving as it naturally occurs in a developmentally diverse sample of dependent and nondependent drinkers. Addiction Biology
Parvaz, Muhammad. Et al. Incubation of Cue-Induced Craving in Adults Addicted to Cocaine Measured by Electroencephalography. JAMA Psychiatry. 2016
Pickens CL. et al. Neurobiology of the incubation of drug craving. Trends Neurosci. 2011
