Everything that’s happened to your body if you’ve completed Sober October
It’s the final day of Sober October and if you’ve made it all this way, congrats.
Perhaps you’re impressed with your achievement and tempted to keep up the no-alcohol life. Or perhaps you’re absolutely gagging to get down to the pub for a pint.
Either way, it’s quite the achievement. In case you aren’t aware, the campaign challenges participants to ditch booze for October, while helping Macmillan Cancer Support raise money to fund vital support services for people with cancer.
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And, beyond raising money for a very worthy cause, Macmillan says going sober comes with a number of amazing benefits.
So, if you made it the whole month, what exactly has happened to your body?
The Priory Group has answered that very question, and the facts will be more than enough to convince you it was all worth it.
The organisation began by explaining that when you give up alcohol, your body may go into withdrawal - although its severity depends on the amount and frequency of your drinking.
They explained that the first 24 hours could see you experience mild symptoms, which can start as soon as two hours after you finished your last drink.
In a nutshell, if you drink alcohol every day, you're going to feel it way more than a weekend-only drinker.
Some of the symptoms you can expect if you fall into this heavy drinking category include anxiety, hand tremors and shakes, sweating and headaches.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, these symptoms will worsen over time and you may have felt tired and depressed as Sober October went on.
If you have an alcohol dependency, the worst time will be between 12 and 72 hours after you stop drinking, and it's possible that you might experience what's known as delirium tremens (DTs).
This is pretty much exactly what it sounds like and can involve hallucinations, disorientation, sweating and high blood pressure.
Thankfully, if you were able to get through this, things should have quickly taken a turn for the better and your symptoms should start to ease off between 48 and 72 hours after you take your last drink.
Between days three and seven, the majority of people shouldn't be experiencing any withdrawal symptoms — although there are exceptions if you're extremely dependent on alcohol.
Once you get through the hard bit, after a week of no booze, you can expect to see improvements to your day-to-day life including better sleep quality, better decision-making, and you might even notice that you feel more creative.
And, you'll probably be saving a fair bit of money too.
By the time you've given up alcohol for two weeks, the lining of your stomach should be normalised - as well as its production of acid.
You may also notice that you’ve lost weight because of the amount of empty calories you're no longer consuming through alcohol.
The third week of no booze is arguably the most life-changing as, at this point, your risk of having a heart attack or stroke will decrease.
You may also experience better vision and your kidney health will begin to improve now that it's had a break from processing so many toxins.
Once you've completed the full month, your liver can recover all of its function too. Other benefits of the booze-free lifestyle also include, better memory, higher levels of concentration, much better sleep quality and, of course, a much healthier bank balance.
So, while avoiding the magnetic force of your local might have been hard to resist this past month, it's good to know just how much Sober October will have benefited both Macmillan Cancer Support and your health.
Topics: Food And Drink, Health
Jess Battison