'Dry January' Challenge Offers Health Benefits After Holiday Drinking Indulgence

The year is almost at its end and the New Year is waiting to embrace all of us. Many of us would celebrate the coming year with a glass filled with our liquor of choice. Some of us could also make resolutions to never touch alcohol again, while others could make the same promise as a result of a crushing hangover the day after.

Forget about renouncing it forever, just try the “Dry January” formula and you could be surprised by the benefits it would bring to your well-being.

A report by a University of Sussex suggested Dry January is one of the secrets for getting better sleep, losing weight and also saving money. The research was presided over by Sussex psychologist Dr. Richard de Visser and was conducted using over 800 people as research subjects.

Dr. Visser said: "The simple act of taking a month off alcohol helps people drink less in the long term: by August people are reporting one extra dry day per week. There are also considerable immediate benefits: nine in 10 people save money, seven in 10 sleep better and three in five lose weight.”

The report suggested around 80 percent of participants felt more control over themselves when it came to drinking after attempting the Dry January challenge. While some 71 percent realized they did not need a drink to shrug off their daily work pressure or to enjoy themselves, over 50 percent said they felt they had a better, glowing skin as a result.

The research further disclosed that even if a participant had not completed the entire month-long challenge, they still showed signs of benefitting from the attempt.

"Interestingly, these changes in alcohol consumption have also been seen in the participants who didn't manage to stay alcohol-free for the whole month - although they are a bit smaller. This shows that there are real benefits to just trying to complete Dry January,” said Dr. Visser.

Here is a glimpse of how the research participants benefited from the attempt they made in January 2018.

• 93 percent of participants had a sense of achievement.
• 88 percent saved money.
• 82 percent thought more deeply about their relationship with drink.
• 80 percent felt more in control of their drinking.
• 76 percent learned more about when and why they drink.
• 71 percent realized they don’t need a drink to enjoy themselves.
• 70 percent had generally improved health.
• 71 percent slept better.
• 67 percent had more energy.
• 58 percent lost weight.
• 57 percent had better concentration.
• 54 percent had better skin.

The report also claimed that we all knew about the repercussions of frequent drinking habit but very few would know the benefits one could reap form healthy drinking habits.

Dr. Visser further said, “Many of us know about the health risks of alcohol – seven forms of cancer, liver disease, mental health problems – but we are often unaware that drinking less has more immediate benefits too. Sleeping better, feeling more energetic, saving money, better skin, losing weight… The list goes on. Dry January helps millions to experience those benefits and to make a longer-lasting change to drink more healthily.”

You, therefore, do not need to become a complete teetotaler. Just go for the Dry January challenge and you should be quite sorted.