Benefits of Dry January: What the Research Says (E184)
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Dry January is very popular. About 41% of American adults intended to participate in Dry January in 2023, and about 16% were able to make it through the challenge successfully. There are lots of great benefits of not drinking for a month. Research from the University of Sussex found that:
93% of participants had a sense of achievement
88% saved money
82% thought more deeply about their relationship with alcohol
80% feel more in control of their drinking
76% learned more about when and why they drink
71% realized they don’t need a drink to enjoy themselves
70% had generally improved health
71% slept better
67% had more energy
58% lost weight
57% had better concentration
54% had better skin
Research on Dry January
A 2016 study found that Dry January was associated with an improvement in drink refusal self-efficacy and in a reduction of alcohol intake. They found that these changes did not exist for the general public who didn’t participate in the challenge and in people who attempted the Dry January challenge but didn’t complete it.
Getting support drastically increases your chances of staying sober. In this study, 70% of Dry January participants that received support during the month were able to successfully complete the challenge, compared to 36% who did it alone. (Get support in my sober community)
A 2018 study published in the British Medical Journal looked at drinkers who were drinking about 18 drinks a week who quit for a month and found that quitting for a month improves insulin resistance, weight, blood pressure and cancer-related growth factors.
A 2019 study on 800 Dry January participants followed them until August to see the impact that Dry January has long term and found that number of drinking days decreased from 4.3 to 3.3 per week, units consumed per drinking day dropped from 8.6 to 7.1 and the frequency of being drunk dropped from 3.4 per times a month to 2.1 times a month.
Listen to episode 184 to hear me explain the research, learn whether Dry January can reset your drinking, and to learn my top 3 tips for having a successful Dry January. Takeaways:
Dry January is a popular challenge where participants take a break from drinking for a month.
Taking a break from drinking can lead to a sense of achievement, saving money, improved control over drinking, and better health.
Belief in sobriety and the ability to socialize without alcohol are important for long-term success.
Getting support from trained professionals or peer support groups can significantly increase the chances of staying sober.
Setting realistic goals and practicing coping skills are essential for success during Dry January.
Listen to the full episode in your podcasting app: Apple Spotify other apps
Cite this article:
Gillian Tietz. Benefits of Dry January: What the Research Says (E184). Sober Powered Podcast. 2024
Please respect my intellectual property and properly credit me if you share my work.
Sources:
Ford, A. How ‘Dry January’ is the secret to better sleep, saving money and losing weight. University of Sussex. 2019
de Visser, R. O., Robinson, E., & Bond, R. (2016). Voluntary temporary abstinence from alcohol during “Dry January” and subsequent alcohol use. Health Psychology, 35(3), 281–289.
Richard O de Visser, Richard Piper, Short- and Longer-Term Benefits of Temporary Alcohol Abstinence During ‘Dry January’ Are Not Also Observed Among Adult Drinkers in the General Population: Prospective Cohort Study, Alcohol and Alcoholism, Volume 55, Issue 4, July 2020, Pages 433–438
Mehta G, Macdonald S, Cronberg A, et al. Short-term abstinence from alcohol and changes in cardiovascular risk factors, liver function tests and cancer-related growth factors: a prospective observational study. BMJ Open 2018;8:e020673.
