Town&Style

Cheers to 2023! A Look at Dry January

We’re getting ready to close the books on 2022, and people are looking for ways to start off the new year happier and healthier. For an increasing number of Americans, the first month of the year is now Dry January. The initiative challenges participants to abstain from alcohol for all 31 days of the month. After the celebrations and indulgences of the holiday season, it can be a great way to reset, and you’re likely to see a positive impact on your physical and mental health as well.

“Alcohol is a very important component of our culture—it’s woven into our everyday lives whether it’s part of how we celebrate or how we destress,” notes Dr. Arturo Taca Jr., founder of INSynergy Personalized Addiction Care. “We don’t want to vilify alcohol, but it’s important that we have a healthy relationship with it and are able to drink in moderation.” During the pandemic, alcohol became more of a problem in the U.S. According to research from Massachusetts General Hospital, drinking to excess (including binge drinking) increased by 21%, and experts say that alone could result in 8,000 deaths from alcohol-related liver disease.

benefits of dry january
Taca notes that drinking in moderation has been shown to have some health benefits in studies. However, it’s also been found that long-term or heavier drinking can increase both physical and mental health problems. “Alcohol impacts every system in the body,” he says. “It can damage organs, result in anemia, increase cancer risk and cause depressive symptoms.” Cutting alcohol for even just a month can make a positive impact on your health.

steps to success

how did dry january start?
The campaign was started by Alcohol Change UK, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing physical, mental, societal and economic alcohol harm. Dry January was inspired by a staff member’s experience stopping drinking to prepare for a marathon. They lost weight, slept better and had more energy. In 2013, the campaign kicked off, and an alcohol behavior expert from the University of Sussex surveyed people taking part. It was found that six months after Dry January, seven out of ten people continued drinking less riskily than before, and almost 25% of people who drank at harmful levels were now in the low risk category. Thanks to those promising results, the initiative grew, and millions of people now take part in the challenge every year.

Additional sources: Harvard Medical School, Alcohol Change UK

Exit mobile version
Skip to toolbar