Benefits of Taking a Month Off Drinking (Dry January 2024)
Dry January is when you take a month off of drinking. Many people will do this to reset their tolerance, take a break after blasting themselves during the holidays, or explore a sober curious lifestyle.
Millions of people attempt Dry January every year, and it’s been found that many of the people who sign up report harmful patterns of drinking. The World Health Organization’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) has been used to assess the drinkers who register, and the mean score is 12, with a score of 8 or above indicating a person is at risk. 29% of participants had AUDIT scores of 16 or above, which is high risk.
When I was drinking, I used to take those “Am I an Alcoholic?” quizzes all the time and lie on them. You can take the AUDIT test for yourself here, but it includes questions like:
how often do you drink alcohol?
how many drinks do you have per day?
how often do you have 6 or more drinks on 1 occasion?
do you have trouble stopping drinking once you’ve started?
how often do you feel guilty after drinking?
Why Take a Month Off Drinking?
Not drinking has a lot of benefits to your physical health and you’ll see many improvements in 1 month of not drinking. Quitting drinking for a month also benefits your mental health and your self-efficacy. Here are some benefits to keep a look out for:
Physical Benefits
Studies have found that Dry January has tons of benefits including:
less liver fat
lower cholesterol
lower blood glucose
improved self-reported sleep quality
improved concentration and well-being
Listen to episode 159 of my podcast to learn more about the benefits of quitting drinking in the first month:
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Mental Health Benefits
Many of us don’t realize the impact that alcohol has on our mental health, but when you take a month off drinking you may observe some changes and start to connect how drinking alcohol really affects you. Positive changes can include:
improved self-esteem
improvement in depressive symptoms
more positive outlook
less guilt and shame
It’s important to note that not everyone will experience positive mental health changes right away, and if you’re struggling with your mental health then it’s important to speak to a therapist or your doctor.
Self-Efficacy Benefits
Drink refusal self-efficacy is the belief that you are able to refuse or resist drinking alcohol. During Dry January you will have several weekends where you have to not drink and find something else to do. You have to socialize without alcohol, and this will hopefully lead you to believing that you are capable of having fun and socializing without alcohol.
If you believe that you can get through something without a drink, then you’re chances of getting through it without a drink improve. Even if you return to drinking after Dry January, you still learned a lot from the experience.
Getting Support to Quit Drinking
Many of us believe we need to do this alone. We think, “I should be strong enough”, “my drinking isn’t bad enough to need support”, or “support is for other people”. Support only helps.
Here are the ways that I can support you this Dry January:
Living a Sober Powered Life Community and Meetings
Weekly emails with sober tips and resources:
