I’m sure we are all aware of what Dry January is at this stage. After a festive period filled with alcohol, a lot of people have begun going alcohol free for the month of January, to detox if you will. As January draws to a close, that means the end of Dry January is in sight for many. However, maybe this year you shouldn’t crack open the bottle of champagne on the stroke of midnight at the end of the month and go back to your normal ways of drinking alcohol in February. Why not go beyond Dry January and continue going alcohol free? It could be the perfect time to reconsider your long-term relationship with alcohol. If you’ve been successfully doing Dry January, there’s no doubt you’ll have seen some benefits the last couple of weeks. In this blog, we’re going to highlight just some of the benefits of going alcohol free, in the hope we can convince those who are doing Dry January to prolong it, and maybe even convince others to go alcohol free once they see the amazing benefits it can bring.

FINANCIAL SAVINGS

There’s no doubt that there are lots of costs associated with drinking alcohol. It can really add up and include a lot more than just the alcohol itself. There are lots of hidden costs you don’t consider such as taxis and fast food to name just two, in addition to the alcohol itself. Going alcohol-free can save you a small fortune. Those savings can go towards a new car, your dream holiday or whatever luxuries you previously couldn’t afford.

IMPROVED HEALTH

During Dry January, your body will have begun repairing some of the damage that alcohol has inflicted on your body. Do you really want to go back to punishing your body again? Long-term drinking increases your risks of developing cancer, diabetes, strokes, hypertension and depression. There are immeasurable benefits to your health for going alcohol-free. The greatest is of course to your liver but also to your waistline. You might have already seen the early impact of this if you’ve been doing Dry January, why not continue that on and become even healthier throughout the year. When we go alcohol-free, we usually don’t replace those liquid calories and therefore will start to see a reduction in our waistline and an improvement to our overall health.

INCREASED ENERGY

Not to get too technical, but blood cells expand when we consume alcohol, which therefore makes the blood cells less efficient at carrying the oxygen around our bodies. This is the reason we can feel so fatigued and tired after drinking alcohol. It can take on average three months for these blood cells to regenerate, so if you’ve done Dry January you aren’t going to see the real impact going alcohol free can have on your energy levels. If you remain alcohol free, you will eventually start to see an increase in your energy levels.

BETTER SLEEP

Many people fall asleep pretty easily after drinking alcohol, but it’s usually a less than average nights sleep, sometimes ending up with you even being wide awake in the middle of the night. That’s all down to alcohol. Even if you don’t wake in the middle of the night, you’ll no doubt be groggy whenever you do eventually get out of bed. Even drinking moderate amounts of alcohol decreases your sleep quality. By going alcohol free, the chances are it will help you get a better nights sleep and wake up feeling rejuvenated in the morning.

BETTER SKIN AND APPEARANCE

Alcohol is a diuretic, which means consuming alcohol can lead to a lack of hydration which leads to dry and dull skin. In addition to this alcohol can increase certain hormones which make skin breakouts more likely as well as speed up your skins ageing process. Going alcohol free can restore this damage, make your skin glow and improve your overall appearance especially when combined with better sleep, health and energy levels.

IMPROVED RELATIONSHIPS

Going alcohol free can improve your personal relationships, professional relationships and of course your relationship with alcohol. Friendships and romantic relationships tend to see more problems when alcohol is involved rather than when sober, so going alcohol free can improve your personal relationships. Going alcohol free can also help you professionally as you’ll feel sharper and have the right spirit to make good decisions. Your relationship with alcohol will also improve as you’ll be able to see you can live without alcohol in your life.

STRONGER IMMUNE SYSTEM

Binge drinking alcohol can suppress your bodies immune system. Evidence has shown that when an average healthy person had a session of binge drinking, their immunity initially rose up, but within a couple of hours their disease-fighting immune cell levels decreased. Going alcohol free can prevent this from happening and keep your immune system stronger.

TABOR GROUP

If you or a loved one are suffering from an addiction, get help today. We can help you recover in a healthy, friendly environment and beat your addiction. Do not hesitate to contact one of our counsellors today for information at +353 (21) 488 7710 (Cork), +353 (1) 639 2962 (Dublin) or email us at info@taborgroup.ie. We can help you.