Dry January – is it worth it? Find out!

The Christmas season has been and gone, and many of us would have enjoyed the indulgences that the most wonderful time of the year brings in abundance; too much eating, too much drinking, too much lazing around, watching Netflix.  As lovely and relaxing as this sounds, sooner or later we come crashing back to reality, especially when January rears its ugly head.

The first month of the year is often a time of reflection.  New year’s resolutions are being banded around like they’re going out of fashion, and a wealth of people are making promises to better themselves.  One popular option during this time of year is to knock alcohol on the head (entirely) for a month – dubbed, of course, Dry January.

Over the years there have been contradicting opinions as to whether or not it’s truly beneficial for you and your health to remain alcohol-free for a month over Dry January.  If people are likely to increase their drinking in February to ‘make up for it’, then it’s easy to see why sceptics would claim the whole exercise is not worthwhile; if you’re going to undo all the good straightaway, what really is the point? – they might say.

However, there are multiple, noticeable benefits to giving up or even cutting down on alcohol and, for some, a month off the sauce can be the beginning of a whole new relationship with it.

When drinking excessively, your skin can become dehydrated and can cause spots as well as dry skin.  This can leave you looking tired and cause not only internal problems, but external self-confidence issues.  Just a few days off of boozing and drinking lots of water can help quash this very quickly.  There is often a lot of calories in alcoholic drinks so, again, from giving it up for a while, people could see unwanted weight (which may have been picked up over the holidays) dropping off.  Sleeping patterns will more than likely be improved as alcohol decreases the amount of REM sleep you’ll achieve, that being the most important part of the sleep cycle in which your body is truly resting.  Coinciding with a good night’s sleep, it’s very likely your mood during the day will then be vastly improved and this, in turn, can help you to reassess the relationship you have with alcohol – with a clear head.

All in all, a break from drinking (be it a month, a week or a few days) would nearly always bring positives, and if it can completely change your relationship with alcohol and lead you to a happier lifestyle, bringing with it a new approach and attitude, then we can’t see any reason not to give it a go.

For all sorts of tips, tricks, advice and to see how others are getting on, search for #DryJanuary on social media platforms.

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