With just one month of abstinence, the health condition improves dramatically and the amount of alcohol consumed after abstinence also decreases

We often hear the discourse that ``a moderate amount of drinking is good for the body,'' but by 2022, `` even a small amount of drinking can harm the heart, '' revealed an experiment on a scale of 350,000 people. It is Regarding such drinking and health, the Washington Post has summarized the research results that `` if you stop drinking for one month, the amount of drinking will decrease and your health will improve ''.

The benefits of “Dry January” last longer than a month, studies show - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/12/27/dry-january-health-benefits/

In the United States and the United Kingdom, a movement called 'Dry January' to refrain from drinking for only one month in January is prevalent, and tens of thousands of people are challenging abstinence for one month every year. Dry January is an exercise that challenges abstinence for one month, but many challengers experience a decrease in drinking even after one month has passed and the limit is gone.

A study by psychologist Richard de Visser, 'Measuring the August Drinking of Thousands of Dry January Challengers,' found that the average drinking frequency before the challenge was 4.3 days per week, while the average drinking frequency after the challenge was 4.3 days per week. It was confirmed that the drinking frequency as of August, after more than half a year had passed, had decreased to 3.3 days a week. In addition, Dry January's challenger experienced improvements in health such as 'saving money', 'weight loss', 'improving sleep', and 'strengthening concentration' by abstaining from alcohol for one month. About. Mr. de Visser points out that the challenger's successful experience has led to long-term drinking restrictions after Dry January.

There are also research results that show that one month of abstinence has significantly improved health. Research teams in the United States and the United Kingdom conducted an experiment to record the health condition of 94 subjects by dividing them into a `` one-month abstinence group '' and a `` non-abstinence group ''. As a result of the experiment, the abstinent group 'had an average weight loss of 2 kg', 'lowered blood pressure', 'significantly reduced insulin resistance, a risk indicator for type 2 diabetes', and 'significantly reduced cancer-related growth factors'. Improved health was confirmed. Furthermore, as a result of resurveying the drinking status of the subjects 6 to 8 months after the experiment, it was also found that the amount of drinking was significantly reduced in the abstinent group.

If you challenge abstinence for a month with Dry January etc. as described above, you can expect a dramatic improvement in your health condition. However, according to De Visser, about 11% of Dry January's challengers experienced a rebound in which the amount of drinking increased after abstinence. The Washington Post offers the following advice to increase your Dry January success rate.

・Challenge with your friends
Find your favorite non-alcoholic drink
Develop habits that replace drinking
Record the amount of money saved by sobriety

In addition, the Washington Post suggests that people who say `` abstinence from alcohol for a month is too difficult '' should start with relatively easy goals such as `` do not drink on weekdays '' and `` cut the amount of alcohol consumed per day in half ''. increase.