What Does Alcohol Do to Your Body?

08 Nov What Does Alcohol Do to Your Body?

She also recommends starting with an event where you’re most comfortable and even relying on an alcohol-free beverage to ease the transition. “It will take time to adjust to a new normal but implementing mindfulness (such as deep breathing) when in a social setting helps you to focus on being fully present to the people you are talking to,” Stewart says. “There are multiple ways to manage alcohol use in social settings to include learning and implementing harm reduction strategies, moderation management, and using refusal skills.

Long-term benefits of avoiding alcohol

For many people, quitting drinking revolves around hitting the proverbial “rock bottom” and seeking recovery through peer-support groups or in-person treatment centers. At least that’s how many used to think about recovery from alcohol use disorder. But https://ecosoberhouse.com/ these days, you don’t have to lose it all or label yourself an “alcoholic” in order to re-evaluate whether your relationship with alcohol is having a positive impact on your life. So, now is as good a time as any to try the sober-curious lifestyle.

Thinking about taking a break from alcohol? Here’s how to cut back or quit

If you look out a longer time, people who drink are six times more likely to have a cardiovascular event within a week compared to people who don’t drink. The American Society of Clinical Oncology adds that limiting or quitting alcohol while you’re having cancer treatment may help you avoid complications. This includes cancer recurrence or the development of secondary primary tumors (SPTs). Of course, the new year is also a popular time to take stock of your health and lifestyle choices, press the reset button, and dive into resolutions such as Dry January. About 41% of U.S. adults surveyed said they intended to give Dry January a try in 2023. But evaluations show, regardless of successful completion, taking up a month-long challenge to quit alcohol is linked to reductions in alcohol consumption six months and up to a year later.

• Other studies, such as this one from 2022, have found similar results, showing no health benefits of consuming alcohol in moderation for people under 40, only risks.
• Symptoms can range from headache, elevated blood pressure, heart palpitations, and nausea and vomiting to tremors, hallucination and in severe cases death.
• Not feeding the habit comes down in part to changing the ways you enable or encourage drinking.

Decrease the risk of heart disease

• Having a glass of wine with dinner or a beer at a party here and there isn’t going to destroy your gut.
• Of all your body’s organs, your liver takes the biggest hit when it comes to alcohol.
• Not as much research has been done about the effects of social drinking as there has about addiction.

You might also start making healthier food choices and reducing the urge to order takeout after a night of drinking. However, keep in mind that these programs are aimed at social drinkers. Dependent drinkers may experience withdrawal symptoms when they suddenly stop drinking, which can be dangerous if not monitored. So if you think you might be dependent on alcohol seek advice from a GP first. Think about why you are making changes to your drinking – to lose weight, feel healthier, save money, sleep better, or prevent that Sunday morning hangover.

How fast you’d potentially lose weight ultimately depends on how much you were drinking beforehand. “Those early days of abstinence from alcohol were so tough, because I had no friends,” he says. He became a substance abuse counselor to help others but found that being in recovery was often really lonely. After a monthlong break, researchers measured levels of a liver enzyme called gamma-glutamyltransferase, or GGT. “Say, hey, it’s dry January,” and tell them why you’re taking a break. If a friend isn’t supportive, it may be time to assess that friendship.

One study found that around 70% of participants had sleep problems when they were admitted for alcohol treatment. That number dropped to 50% when the participants went home, and many reported that their sleep quality got better after treatment. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.2 million U.S. adults had both mental health disorders and a substance use disorder in 2018, yet nearly 60% did not get treatment.

If you’ve thought about it and want to try sobriety, for a brief period of time or for who-knows-how-long, getting started can be simpler than you think. If you look at the impact alcohol is having on your life and decide that there are still some benefits even among the consequences, that’s an important step in recognizing how your how to take a break from drinking relationship with alcohol is working overall. It’s OK — and, in fact, very normal — if you’re feeling ambivalent about changing your relationship with alcohol, says Ellinwood. When you stop drinking, it can also reverse the negative effects alcohol has had on your cognitive functions like problem-solving, memory, and attention.

For anyone concerned about heart health, Dasgupta recommended decreasing alcohol intake and increasing physical activity, which also raises good cholesterol. Of course, we all want a simple, achievable number for how long we should abstain from alcohol in order for our bodies to fully heal from its effects. Another thing that will help your liver’s journey in recovery is good nutrition. There’s no miracle diet by any means, but the Mediterranean diet, for example, can help fill some of the nutritional gaps you may have due to alcohol use.