Lose weight, allow the liver to regenerate, sleep better, restore normal blood pressure… the health benefits of quitting alcohol for a month are numerous.
These last months, the French drank to forget. Or take care. During the first confinement, last spring, an Odoxa study showed that 5.5 million French people had drunk more alcohol. At the end of November, a second Odoxa poll then revealed that 66% of people questioned between September and October feared an increase in their consumption in the weeks to come. If you’re concerned, in January 2021, more than any other year, trying Dry January might have its upsides. The goal: not to drink alcohol for a month “and join a community of several million people who will together change their relationship with alcohol”argues the British organization Alcohol Change UK at the origin of this now global event. Why Doctor takes stock here of six significant benefits of stopping alcohol for a month on health, physical and mental.
1/ Lose weight quickly
Quitting alcohol in January is a very effective way to recover from the damage inflicted by the excesses of the end of the year celebrations. In effect, alcohol is full of sugar (7 calories in a gram of alcohol, compared to 4 calories in a gram of sugar (carbohydrates) or 9 calories in a gram of fat (lipids) and increases hunger. In particular, it has been shown that someone who drinks two glasses of wine at the table, we ate 30% more.Also, if you continue to eat as usual but stay in the water, you are sure to lose weight, in the body but especially in the cheeks.
2/ Have baby skin
Consuming alcohol excessively can lead to aging of the skin. Because alcohol has no nutrients for the body and exhausts the liver, which leads to general fatigue and a slowdown in cell renewal. A study conducted by the University of Kobe (Japan) has also proven that drinking excessively modifies the composition of telomeres, these ends of the chromosomes making it possible to protect the DNA sequence which shortens over the course of life. Indeed, alcoholic patients had shorter telomeres than the others. What’s more, alcohol causes skin inflammation and causes great dehydration. In addition to the hangover caused by the latter, in the long run, it will dry out your skin, which will become dull and more wrinkled.
3/ Sleep better and avoid mood swings
Alcohol helps to fall like a mass, certainly. But that does not mean that the night will be good, quite the contrary. In particular, one study showed that while alcohol helped participants fall asleep more quickly and deeply during the first part of the night, it reduced the duration of REM sleep during the second. Or this phase of dreams essential to memorization and creativity. What’s more, as you may have noticed, drinking before bed leads to going to the bathroom regularly during the night. Not to mention sweating, nightmares, pasty mouth and especially snoring. Because alcohol leads to a relaxation of the musculature of the respiratory tract. Also, inspired air struggles to make its way to the lungs, which can lead to brief respiratory arrests, even in people without sleep apnea. What a way to wake up exhausted and in a bad mood.
4/ Benefits for cholesterol, blood sugar and liver
According to a study by University College London (United Kingdom), liver fat decreases on average by 15% after one month without alcohol. Blood sugar and cholesterol are reduced by an average of 16% and 5% respectively. Abstinence also helps to stop the process of infiltration of fats into the liver caused by alcohol and at the origin of fatty liver disease (inflammation and liver damage). In the UK, health authorities recommend two alcohol-free days a week to give the liver time to recover from excessive consumption.
5/ Better tension
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol increases the risk of developing high blood pressure. Blood pressure increases linearly from three drinks a day for men and two for women. The increase in blood pressure is is approximately 10 mmHg with each glass of alcohol consumed daily. In the long term, too high blood pressure can lead to ventricular hypertrophy, heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation, type 2 diabetes or even cerebral thrombosis. But don’t panic: again abstaining from drinking for two to four weeks can reverse the effects of increased blood pressure.
6/ A slowdown in alcohol over the long term
Finally, stopping drinking for a month would help slow down his alcohol consumption in the long term. According to a study published in 2019 by the University of Sussex (United Kingdom), seven months after having carried out a Dry January, the participants drank one day less per week. Weaning oneself for thirty days would therefore make it possible to enter a virtuous circle of physical fitness and to reflect on one’s lifestyle to start again on a healthier basis.
To help you stay alcohol-free month, the Addiction Foundation has launched the free, mobile app Try Dry. The latter gives advice and encourages in a personalized way. You can also talk about your challenge to your loved ones to motivate them to accompany you on the adventure, or at least support you if you are about to crack.
