Plenty of people celebrate the New Year with Champagne at midnight and a hangover the next morning. But whether you’re rethinking your relationship to alcohol or just looking for a change, maybe you want to kick off the year with Dry January instead.
The popular sobriety challenge has a simple goal: Give up alcohol for the first 31 days of the year.
Research has shown that alcohol, even in small amounts, is bad for your health. It can lower the quality of your sleep, impair sexual function and increase your risk of developing certain cancers and other diseases. In the United States, alcohol-related deaths more than doubled between 1999 and 2020.
Even cutting back in small doses can provide health benefits, experts say. Here’s what to know if you want to try Dry January this year.
How do you prepare for Dry January?
Making a sudden switch to sobriety can be daunting, but a few strategies can help you get the most out of the challenge.
One of the easiest ways to hold yourself accountable for the month is to tell others about your goal. You might also consider making a plan for what you’ll be doing in the moments when you would typically be drinking. If you often pour a glass of wine before bed, for example, try a soothing tea in its place. In this article, we share tips from experts to help make the month successful.
How does Dry January affect your health?
Quitting drinking can deliver numerous physical and mental benefits, such as better sleep, clearer skin and more energy throughout the day.
These benefits will depend on how much and how frequently you drank before, said Danielle Dick, a professor and director of the Rutgers Addiction Research Center. If you are a regular drinker, a sudden change in your habits might make you feel irritable or depressed before you start to feel better. For people who drink less heavily, you may wake up feeling more rested after just a few days of sobriety. In this article, we explore what we know about how cutting alcohol for January affects your body and your mind.
What are other ways to scale back your drinking?
If the upsides of a monthlong break from alcohol are alluring but you’re not ready to commit, consider trying Damp January. Experts say that making an effort to drink less without abstaining entirely may be a more sustainable option for some people — and it can still bring health benefits.
By deciding, drink-by-drink, when you want a mocktail instead of a cocktail, you might even feel “a sense of greater control” over your drinking than if you give up alcohol altogether, said Richard de Visser, a professor of health psychology at the University of Sussex who researches alcohol use. In this article, we explain how Damp January can help you build good habits that will last beyond the month, too.
Are nonalcoholic drinks healthier for you?
Nonalcoholic beverages have become the fastest-growing sector of the alcohol market, and there are more and better choices than ever before.
The main harmful ingredient in beer, wine and spirits is the alcohol — so once that’s been removed, the health risks associated with booze pretty much disappear. In this article, we lay out how these drinks can help your health — with a few caveats.
Is it time think about your relationship with alcohol?
For some, Dry January can be a starting point for re-evaluating the role alcohol plays in their lives. If you find yourself wanting to make a change, experts suggest starting by taking note of how much you’re drinking, and considering the pros and cons of that consumption. In this article, we offer expert-backed ways to rethink your relationship with alcohol.
The post Everything You Need to Know About Dry January appeared first on New York Times.
