We’ve made it nine days into the year, which means that those who are taking part in Dry January have managed to go more than a week without a bevvy. Congratulations!
Plenty of folks opt to ditch the booze during January - especially if you felt you had a particularly heavy December - and it can have a pretty big impact on your health, not to mention your finances.
If you are choosing to abstain from alcohol for the month of January, then you may be interested to know exactly what’s happened to your body in the nine or so days since.
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Yep, you may not feel as though much time has passed since 31 December, but there are a lot of effects that giving up the sauce for a month can have on your body - depending on how much you usually drink - and some of them kick in just hours after you give up, according to Delamere.
Firstly, as you passed through the 12 to 24 hour point, you may have started to feel some withdrawal symptoms. This could be sweating, restlessness, and retching.
Your sleep is likely to have been disturbed, and you could have experienced some alcohol cravings, and a low mood.
Up to 72-hours after your last alcoholic drink is considered to be the most dangerous period if you are a very heavy drinker. In extreme cases, this could mean an increased heart rate, raised blood pressure, and seizures.
Between day three and seven, for most people the symptoms will begin to recede. However, for a few cases it could actually worsen and become Delirium Tremens, or DTs. If this does happen then you should speak to a doctor as soon as possible.
A week in, you should have noticed your sleeping pattern beginning to improve, though it can sometimes take longer.
As we creep towards the two week mark, you may notice some weight loss, depending on how much you normally drink, as you are not taking in calories from your beverage of choice.
From three to four weeks, you may see your blood pressure improving if alcohol was a factor in it before.
Finally, at the one month mark you could see some improvement in your skin.
For the majority of people, cutting out alcohol for a month is a good way to reduce your consumption, and the dangers are only a factor in more extreme cases.
If you do choose to start drinking again, you can do so because you enjoy it rather than perhaps as a compulsion or social crutch.
As a caveat, I would like to add that, if you are a heavy drinker or think you have a problem you should speak to your doctor. Suddenly stopping alcohol consumption completely can be dangerous in extreme cases, and should be done under medical supervision.
Please drink responsibly. If you want to discuss any issues relating to alcohol in confidence, contact Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, 9am–8pm weekdays and 11am–4pm weekends for advice and support
Topics: Health, Food And Drink, Mental Health
Claire Reid