Dr. Lynn Morrison, BCCS CEO: Dry January – A Health Trend We Love

2020 has just peaked over the horizon and the Question of the Moment is “are you sober curious?”

People are talking about a new trend of sobriety for social drinkers that has transitioned into a ‘movement’ in the United States. It originally burst into popularity in 2014 when the United Kingdom promoted ‘Dry January’ as a public health campaign. And it is just as it sounds: a reprieve from alcohol after the overindulgence of the holiday season.

There are deeper, more far-reaching benefits to this growing trend. The goal behind the Dry January challenge goes beyond more responsible drinking behavior – it includes better overall health. Here are some things that happen to your body when you limit or stop drinking alcohol:

— A Healthier Heart: Quitting or cutting back helps lower your blood pressure, levels of fat called triglycerides, and chances of heart failure.

— A Restored Liver: Your liver’s job is to filter toxins, and alcohol is toxic to your cells. Drinking too much can lead to problems like fatty liver and cirrhosis. Luckily, the liver can repair and even rebuild itself; so, less drinking is always a good thing.

— Might Drop Some Pounds: A glass of beer is about 150 calories. Wine, 120. Not only are these mostly empty calories but alcohol also increases your appetite. So, turning down alcohol will also help the numbers on your scale go down.

— Better Sleep: Alcohol can make you drowsy but once you slumber, it can interfere with important REM sleep by waking you up repeatedly in the night. Try skipping alcohol, especially in the late afternoon and evening, for a more restful snooze.

— You’ll Get Sick Less: Just one bout of heavy drinking can weaken your body’s germ-fighting power for up to 24 hours. Continually drinking large amounts will eventually blunt your immune system and your body’s ability to repair itself. Ease up so you can better ward off illnesses.

— A Sharper Brain: Alcohol dependence can make it harder to think or remember things. Too much can cloud your perception and impair your motor skills. However, after you quit drinking, your brain seems to be able to recover some of these abilities.

If a month of temporary sobriety is not one of your New Year’s resolutions, you can still improve your overall health by adjusting your habit of drinking, for example, to only weekends or at social occasions. Having a friend join you in cutting back may also make things easier.

And if you think you might have an alcohol dependency problem and want help to curb your drinking, call us or come to one of our locations across Delaware to talk with one of our counselors.

You don’t need to ‘go dry’ alone.