Does Dry January Actually Do Anything?

After the lavish holiday parties and family dinners of December—and the drinking that’s endemic to these events—many people use the new year as a reset on their relationship with alcohol. Dry January is a month-long challenge where people voluntarily stop drinking after the excessive consumption of December. Like other New Year’s resolutions and habit change-ups, Dry January represents a re-commitment to health. And we know that drinking less, or abstaining altogether, is good for our health. In Canada, newly released guidelines stipulate that more than two standard drinks a week can lead to alcohol-related risks like cancer, heart disease and stroke while the World Health Organization warns that no level of alcohol consumption is good for us.

But can taking a month off from drinking really make a tangible improvement to your health? We spoke to the experts to find out.

How does Dry January affect your body?

Most people who stop consuming alcohol will likely feel some symptoms of withdrawal—which can range from mild (like fatigue and irritability) to severe (fever, hallucination, even seizures)—for a short period of time. Severity depends on how much you drink; other common symptoms include nausea, anxiety, muscle aches and increased heart rate.

Luckily, positive effects kick in quickly. For those who struggle with PTSD, anxiety and depression, not drinking can improve mental health, says Dr. Dominique Morisano, a clinical psychologist and adjunct professor at the University of Toronto and University of Ottawa. Cognition and concentration will also improve, and you might feel more clear-headed, she says.

Your sleeping patterns will also likely change. “If you’re drinking in the evening and you’re getting up to pee a lot, it disrupts your sleep,” says Launette Rieb, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia. “Alcohol sedates you and pushes you to sleep, but during the withdrawal stage at night, it’s activating so it’ll wake you up or make you dream more,” which decreases sleep quality. Drinking can also cause sleep apnea and snoring because alcohol slows your breathing, causes nasal congestion and relaxes the muscles of your throat (which leads to snoring). Fortunately, Rieb says that “even a month off from drinking can really reduce your risk of sleep apnea snoring and having restless sleep.”

Other physical benefits of Dry January include not having as much gas from gastritis (which happens when your stomach lining becomes inflamed and can be caused by excessive drinking) and less acid reflux.

Will I really start seeing the benefits after just one month of not drinking?

You won’t get all the benefits of going sober after just one month—for example Rieb says that your liver won’t return to its normal enzyme levels for about three months if you’re a heavy drinker. But abstaining for just one month can still do a lot of good. A study published in the British Medical Journal found that regular drinkers that abstain for a month saw improved insulin resistance, blood pressure and a lower risk of developing cancer.

Is going cold turkey once December ends really the best option? What about tapering?

Those who are light to moderate drinkers (which means drinking six or fewer drinks a week) can usually do a challenge like Dry January without tapering, since any negative withdrawal symptoms will be short-lived. But, both Rieb and Morisano recommend that heavier drinkers, especially those with an alcohol dependency, taper off slowly to avoid any severe withdrawal symptoms like seizures. This might look like decreasing the amount of drinks consumed daily until reaching zero. Or, committing to drinking just three nights a week instead of five, then drinking just two nights a week, then one and finally none.

Can Dry January help quit, or reduce, drinking long-term?

Yes! The new year is a natural point to be reflective about your habits. “It gives you a real opportunity to start to renegotiate your relationship [with], with needing a substance in your life for entertainment or ease or anxiety reduction,” says Morisano. Dry January gives you the opportunity to start to “come to terms with some of the, let’s say, skeletons in your closet you’ve been trying to avoid.”

Four tips for a successful Dry January

• Don’t replace alcohol with another substance, like cannabis edibles. “It just reinforces the pattern of chemically coping, instead of building healthier habits,” says Rieb.
• Ask some friends to join you. People often drink during social situations, and being the only sober person in the room can make it even harder to stay on track. Doing Dry January as a group can provide you with a supportive network and make it easier to socialize without feeling the pressure to drink. Rieb also recommends planning social events where drinking is unlikely—like going skating or seeing a movie at a theatre that doesn’t serve alcohol.
• Keep a daily journal to track your mood. Morisano says that positive change can be hard to notice, but documenting your improved mood, sleep, concentration or any other effects you experience can help you see the effect that sobriety is having. Plus, it makes it easier to track patterns: when are you craving a drink the most? What sorts of situations trigger the cravings? Identifying these patterns can help develop a healthier relationship to alcohol.
• Consider whether you need more support. If you’re struggling a lot with Dry January, says Morisano, “maybe it’s time to work on [your] with a therapist.”