What are the benefits of giving up alcohol for a month?

Annual events such as the New Year and the festive season of indulgence, mean more and more people are pledging to commit to alcohol-free lifestyle changes such as 'Dry January' (where you drink no alcohol at all). Whatever your personal reasons for going sober for the month, there are plenty of health benefits associated with it which UK Meds look into.

Key Takeaways

Weight Loss and Metabolism:

Giving up alcohol for a month can help with weight loss as alcohol contains hidden calories, especially in sugary drinks. It also slows down metabolism, making it harder for your body to process sugars and fats. Abstaining from alcohol can therefore aid in achieving health goals.

Improved Sleep and Hydration:

Alcohol disrupts REM sleep, affecting sleep quality even if you sleep for eight hours. Avoiding alcohol can lead to better sleep, leaving you feeling more refreshed and alert. Additionally, since alcohol is a diuretic, it leads to dehydration. Going alcohol-free helps maintain better hydration, preventing dry mouth, headaches, and tiredness.

Enhanced Skin and Immune System:

Alcohol dehydrates the skin and can cause breakouts, dry, dull skin, and redness. Abstaining from alcohol can improve skin hydration and boost collagen, resulting in plumper, more radiant skin. Furthermore, alcohol weakens the immune system, making you more susceptible to illnesses. Giving up alcohol can strengthen your immunity, helping you avoid common winter illnesses.

What are the benefits of giving up alcohol for a month?

Giving up alcohol for a month (or longer!) can bring some significant health benefits. Below we've outlined some of the best ways that your body will thank you for giving up alcohol.

It can help you to lose weight (if you are overweight)

Alcohol contains hidden calories

Alcohol contains more hidden calories than you think, especially if your drink of choice is a sugary cocktail, glass of wine or contains mixers (NHS, 2023). Pair that with the fact that drunken nights are often ended with junk food at the end of the night and the next day, alcohol is not your friend when it comes to weight loss.

Alcohol slows down your metabolism

Alcohol also slows down your metabolism (Abbeycare, 2024), so your body also takes longer than usual to break down the sugars and fats that you consume. So a break from the drink for January could also aid your health goals.

If cutting down on alcohol, eating healthily and exercising more still isn’t enough to help you lose weight then there are weight loss medications available to assist you, such as:

• Wegovy

• Saxenda

• Mounjaro

• Xenical and Alli (both containing Orlistat)

Your doctor can advise you on the most suitable and safe course of treatment to suit your individual needs.

It will improve your sleep quality

Getting a good nights sleep is not solely about how many hours of shut-eye you get; it’s also about the quality of the sleep you’re getting. Sleep quality is often measured by how much REM (rapid eye movement) sleep you get, which is the part that helps with memory and cognitive function.

Alcohol disrupts REM sleep

Drinking alcohol however, can disrupt REM sleep (Sleep Foundation, 2024), so even if you manage to get a full 8 hours after a night out, you can still wake up feeling tired and groggy. Going alcohol-free for a month could mean you feel brighter, better focussed and more alert.

Research studies

Giving up alcohol for a month improves sleep according to a study review by Ternay et al (2022). Additionally, a UK study by Visser & Nicholls (2020) with over 4000 participants taking part in Dry January reported that 56% of the participants slept better without alcohol.

If alcohol doesn’t seem to be the cause of your insomnia and you’re still struggling, then UK Meds have effective sleep medications and herbal remedies available.

You’ll feel better hydrated

Alcohol is a diuretic

Most people have felt that horribly dry-mouthed feeling the day after a night of heavy drinking, which is surely strange, considering you drink more liquid than normal, right? Wrong. Alcohol is a diuretic (Drink Aware, 2021), which means that it makes you urinate more without absorbing as much water.

Its effect on the kidneys essentially means that your body is encouraged to send alcohol straight to the bladder to be flushed out, rather than re-absorbing water from it. This can lead to dehydration, headaches and tiredness, which you’ll thankfully be able to avoid during a month of only water and soft drinks!

It can improve your skin

Alcohol dehydrates your skin

Although it may not be the first side effect of alcohol that you think of, its dehydrating nature and high sugar content can lead to breakouts, dry and dull skin (WebMD, 2022). Pair this with alcohol's ability to increase the blood flow to the skin’s surface and it can leave you looking red and blotchy too.

Not only can a break from alcohol make you better hydrated (which your skin will thank you for) but a break from the booze can also give you a boost in collagen, which keeps your skin looking plump and radiant.

Your immune system will get a boost

It’s January, it’s cold and it seems like every virus, cough and flu is doing the rounds. In order to avoid getting ill this month, you’ll need a strong immune system so you may be pleased to learn that going sober can give it a boost.

Alcohol depletes your immunity

Research has shown that after only 20 minutes, alcohol can begin to deplete your immune system (Szabo & Saha, 2015) and these effects can last for several days afterwards. So, if you notice yourself get unwell shortly after a big night out, full of heavy drinking, then that’s likely why.

Another way to give your immune system an extra little boost is to make sure you eat a healthy balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables (UK Meds, 2021) and consider taking a multivitamin. These Nature’s Way ones are specifically tailored to bolster your immune system and assist your body in fighting off illness!

It can reduce your risk of long term health problems

Alcohol increases the risks of health problems

Drinking alcohol excessively offers a whole host of health problems from increased risk of certain cancers (Cancer Research UK, 2023), to increased danger of heart disease (BHF, 2023), or liver failure (NHS Inform, 2023).

A month’s break from alcohol may not seem like it could have long term health benefits but the impact of cutting back on alcohol can be life changing.

If you do drink high volumes of alcohol on a regular basis then you might want to consider cutting back in general, outside of events dedicated to the cause, such as Dry January.

Your mood will be better

Alcohol disrupts the chemical messages in your brain

Alcohol is a depressant (Mental Health Foundation, 2022), so it changes the chemicals (neurotransmitters) in your brain and leads to an imbalance. Even though you may feel happy shortly after having a drink or two, it can cause a low mood after the alcohol wears off and can even lead to depression (Drink Aware, 2022).

Laying off the drink for a month will prevent the ups and downs in your mood and that may just be what you need to convince you to cut back on alcohol as part of an overall lifestyle change for the better!

Sources

Health effects of alcohol - Drink Aware

Alcohol misuse - NHS

The risks of drinking too much - NHS Inform

Alcohol, mental health and the brain - Royal College of Psychiatrists

What are the benefits of giving up alcohol - BBC Good Food

What to expect when you stop drinking - Drink Aware

Drink Less - NHS Better Health

12 Things That Happen When You Quit Drinking - WebMD