Should You Be Doing Dry January?
Dry January seems to be a rapidly growing new trend.
After indulging over the holidays with too much beer, mulled wine, cocktails, and the like, a ‘dry’ January offers a complete 180-degree u-turn into the New Year to help you hit the reset button.
Is committing to going entirely ‘alcohol-free’ to start the year a good strategy?
Can it help if you have a weight loss goal?
What about the effects on your behaviors in the long-term?
Let’s explore a few of the nuances.
Why Go ‘Dry’ In January?
How much alcohol do you typically consume in a week?
A recent digital survey investigating the weekly alcohol consumption patterns of adults in the UK found;
60% up to 14 units per week,
17% consume 14-35 units per week
4% consume more than 35 units per week (1)
(I know what you're thinking... how much is 'one unit' of alcohol again?)
One pint of beer, a regular glass of wine (175mL), and a double-shot of spirit are all approximately 2 units.
Doesn’t sound like much, but alcohol units add up more quickly than we realize.
For example, if you drink a bottle of wine over the weekend, or have a couple of pints on a Friday and Saturday night, that’s 8-9 units right there.
But, it’s not just the direct impact of alcohol consumption, but also the ripple effects of how alcohol intake influences other behaviours, such as;
your food choices
whether or not to exercise
how you interact with friends or family
when you go to sleep
etc.
Too much alcohol, or drinking too frequently, can absolutely derail both your mental and physical health.
Let’s review some of the potential health benefits.
The Health Benefits of Cutting Out Alcohol
1) Better Sleep
Alcohol is one of the most powerful inhibitors of deep REM sleep, compromising your sleep quality, and mental performance. Even a single glass or two of wine before bed adversely affects your sleep (regardless of whether you ‘feel’ it or not).(2)
2) Fewer Calories In Your Diet
Alcohol brings onboard a significant amount of energy (aka – calories) A pint of beer nets you about 200-250 calories and a glass of wine 100-150 calories, and if you don’t burn it off immediately via movement it will be stored as body-fat.
3) Better Blood Sugar Control
It’s not just the ‘energy’ in alcohol that’s a problem, it also raises your blood sugar levels very quickly. Then, 60-90 minutes you’re blood glucose comes thundering back down the rollercoaster leaving you to struggle with low energy and mood.
4) Better Mood
Lack of sleep, weight gain, high blood glucose levels, along with excess alcohol consumption all can impair your mood. (3,4)
5) Improved Immunity
Alcohol suppresses both arms of your immune system; the innate ‘first line of defense’ arm and the adaptive ‘seek and destroy’ arm, leaving you more exposed to potentially catching a cold or flu (i.e., covid19).(5,6)
How Best To Cut Out Alcohol This January?
So far, I’ve highlighted some pretty compelling evidence to make the case for a Dry January. However, the major pitfall is that if your new behaviours don’t continue throughout the rest of the year, the benefit is very limited.
What’s the best predictor of success in nutrition, exercise or weight loss? Consistency.
If you can keep up your new habits for 12 months, no matter how small or simple, you can achieve significant results.
For this reason, the ‘all or nothing’ approach isn’t ideal. Better to lay down new habits you can truly integrate into your lifestyle. Here are a few suggestions;
Set 5-6 ‘no drinking’ days per week (e.g., Monday to Friday)
Days you do drink, cap it at a maximum of 1-2 glasses.
Buy smaller bottles of beer or wine
Use a smaller wine glass
Pour your own wine (no top-ups!)
Why is this a better approach?
If you save money for one month, only to go back to your old spending habits in the months that follow, you’ll end up in the same position in the long run.
Narrow the behaviour change ‘gap’ by making your January goals realistic and achievable.
Know Your Tendencies (The Exception)
There are certain individuals for whom ‘moderation’ just doesn’t work. This is an exception to above suggestion.
If this sounds like you, then a Dry January can set in motion a lot of positives when it comes to nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle factors.
That said, you should consider what your plan will be when you reach February (and onward), because reverting straight back to old behaviors does little to help in the long-term.
Inspiration, Motivation & Discipline
Use the inspiration and motivation of the New Year to propel you into action. But just remember, you can’t rely on them to get you through the year; inspiration and motivation (even discipline) are finite resources.
Build the right habits so your new behaviours become automatic; you don’t even need to ‘think’ about them.
Reducing alcohol intake to start the year is a fantastic goal.
Find the right Dry January approach that suits you, your goals, and that you can maintain throughout the year.
Dr. Marc
…
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References
1.NHS Digital (2018): Health Survey for England 2017, Table 13
2.Maurice Ohayon et al., “National Sleep Foundation’s sleep quality recommendations: first report,” Sleep Health 3, no. 1 (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2016.11.006.
3.Markku Timonen et al., “Insulin resistance and depressive symptoms in young adult males: find- ings from Finnish military conscripts,” Psychosomatic Medicine 69, no. 8 (2007), https://doi.org /10.1097/psy.0b013e318157ad2e.
4.J. C. Felger and F. E. Lotrich, “Inflammatory cytokines in depression: neurobiological mechanisms and therapeutic implications,” Neuroscience 246 (2013), https://doi.org/10.1016/j .neuroscience.2013.04.060.
5.World Health Organization https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/437608/Alcohol-and-COVID-19-what-you-need-to-know.pdf?ua=1. Accessed on January 6th 2020.
6.Dipak Sarker et al. “Alcohol and the Immune System,” Alcohol Res 37, no. 2 (2015).