Director’s Blog: Taking a Break from Alcohol Can be Good for Your Health National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA

Mehta also reminds that, for those trying to quit drinking, it’s important to understand if you were drinking to cope with something and to find alternative methods of coping. If you’ve thought about it and want to try sobriety, for a brief period of time or for who-knows-how-long, getting started can be simpler than you think.

Unless you’re drinking organic wine, you’re getting loads of sugars, loads of carbs, and loads of pesticides.” Alcohol, sugar, and carbs are all linked to inflammation in the body, so cutting back on them is never a bad idea. With the recent popularization of 30-day challenges like Dry January and Sober October, people are beginning to recognize that there can be benefits to cutting out alcohol for a period of time. But if you’re new to sober curiosity, you may not know where to begin thinking about your relationship with alcohol. This means that if we’re already in a precarious position of managing mental health disorders, drinking can make the symptoms worse. Likewise, if you’re managing the everyday stressors, a reduction of your brain’s baseline chemicals can make those stressors a whole lot worse. It might make it harder to get through the day, even when the events of the day are pretty benign. You might also find that you lose interest in the things that make you happy.

Director’s Blog: Taking a Break from Alcohol Can be Good for Your Health

For most people, participating in month-long challenges will provide a range of benefits and little downside, even over the longer term. 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.

But these days, you don’t have to lose it all or label yourself an “alcoholic” in order to re-evaluate whether your relationship with alcohol is having a positive impact on your life. I have done things I am ashamed of while under the influence.______2. I have given up interests, sports, hobbies, or other events I used to do for fun.______3.

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Ask around — you probably know more sober people than you think willing to keep you in check. And having a sober pal comes in handy if you need someone to go with you to a party and not drink. Therefore, not drinking, especially for extended periods of time, can lead to significant improvements in sleep and sleep quality. “Because you may sleep more deeply when not drinking, you may notice waking up feeling sharper and more refreshed the next day,” he adds.

You wake up in the morning feeling tired, grumpy, and full of guilt for having yet another hangover. I used to quickly walk to the kitchen the next morning to check the wine bottle. Similar to handing your power taking a break from alcohol over to the scale,if the bottle was only half empty it was a good day.Just a bit left? Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

“All I had to do was not drink.”

Some people notice significant changes when they stop drinking. 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.” For many people, quitting drinking revolves around hitting the proverbial “rock bottom” and seeking recovery through peer-support groups or in-person treatment centers. At least that’s how many used to think about recovery from alcohol use disorder.

Alcohol can disrupt sleep patterns, sending you into deep sleep and less restorative REM sleep. You might feel like you didn’t get enough rest even if you were horizontal for your usual interlude. Heavy alcohol use can lead to systemic inflammation, or prolonged inflammation throughout your entire body.

Emotional BENEFITS

If you’ve ever woken to a hangover, feeling shaky, lightheaded, and nauseous are likely some of the symptoms you’ve experienced. An excruciating headache might be another you’re familiar with. You might even notice that some of these feelings happen while drinking. Each of these breaks offers mental or physical (or both!) health benefits, which is why we take them in the first place. Taking a break from alcohol—even a short one—also provides a wealth of benefits.

At CheckUp & Choices, we understand that going for any period of time without drinking can be challenging. On the other hand, taking a vacation from alcohol can free you up for fun.

Over half of the people inside never attend live calls and only watch the replays or listen on the private podcast. Every week, members are invited to participate in group coaching calls and workshops on Zoom. You’ll learn how to apply the tools we for alcohol with food.

• Now, if you are one of those people who are able to only drink the recommended one to two glasses per day, then this may not directly relate to you.
• When your gut microbiome is thrown out of whack, you may experience more direct digestive woes and/or less obvious side effects of a disrupted microbiome like fatigue, sugar cravings, and inflammatory skin conditions.
• Tons of people never go back to drinking and some only to drink very occasionally.
• Now I feel wonderful because I act in accordance with my true intent.
• It’s a free service, funded by the Australian government and a range of philanthropic organisations.
• Still, it’s good to know that the protective effects can be both fast-acting and long-lasting.

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