How to cut back on drinking

Last updated: 28 October 2026

To cut back on drinking, decide your limit before the first drink, make each drink smaller or weaker, and plan for the hour when you usually start. The NHS suggests setting that limit in advance, choosing smaller sizes and lower-strength drinks, and having several drink-free days each week. The aim is to drink less, on terms you set.

Where do you start when you want to drink less?

Start by knowing how much you drink now, then set a number of days and drinks. The CDC's first tip is to set limits: decide which days you will drink and how many drinks you will have, and schedule alcohol-free days each week.

A count only works if you know what one drink is. A US standard drink contains 14 grams of pure alcohol, while a UK unit contains 8 grams; how many are in a glass depends on its size and strength, and the examples are in how much alcohol is too much. Alcohol Change UK suggests writing down your reasons for cutting down, and finding the drinks in your week that you have out of boredom or habit as places to start.

Do smaller glasses and weaker drinks help?

The NHS recommends smaller servings and lower-strength drinks as ways to cut down. Evidence that a smaller glass alone reduces drinking at home is still uncertain.

In two 2018 experiments, people drank less in a single session when servings were smaller, but whether the result was statistically significant depended on the analysis. The estimated reductions were about 21 to 22% among 114 students and university staff over one hour with servings 25% smaller, and about 32 to 40% among 164 people at a Liverpool bar over up to three hours with servings about a third smaller.

At home the evidence is weaker. In a 2022 trial in UK households that usually drank at least two bottles of wine a week, 217 households were analysed: with smaller (290 ml) glasses they drank 6.5% less wine over two weeks than with larger ones, and with half-size bottles 3.6% less, but neither difference was statistically certain. Most households were white and better off, so the result may not apply to everyone.

The NHS also suggests swapping strong beers or wines for lower-strength ones, checking the ABV on the bottle, and alternating each drink with a glass of water.

How do you get through the usual drinking hour?

Know when and where you drink more, and make a plan for that moment before it comes. The CDC suggests limiting time with the people, places or activities that push you past your plan, and keeping alcohol out of your home, while Alcohol Change UK suggests buying only the alcohol you plan to drink.

Having something else to drink at that hour may help. In a 2026 randomised trial of 278 employees who drank heavily, those given free alcohol-free drinks for 12 weeks recorded less alcohol in total in a daily app than those given none, mainly through fewer drinking days rather than smaller amounts on the days they drank.

A plan in the form when X happens, I do Y is another option, with a modest effect: if you usually pour wine while cooking, for example, have sparkling water ready before you start. A 2023 meta-analysis of 16 studies found that such plans reduced weekly drinking only a little, the effect faded over time, and they made no difference to heavy single sessions. When the urge comes anyway, the US National Institutes of Health describes urges as short-lived, predictable, and controllable, and suggests a walk, a call or another activity until it passes.

Can you cut back without quitting?

Yes. Every tip above is about drinking less, and the NHS puts it plainly, "You can still enjoy a drink, but go for smaller sizes," and suggests cutting back a little each day.

Drink-free days sit between the two. Some people try a whole month off, such as Dry January, and then decide how they want to drink afterwards. If you drink heavily every day, stopping all at once can be risky: talk to a doctor first. A doctor or a local support service can also help you plan, and in an emergency, contact your local emergency services.

What does the evening look like before the first drink?

If your first drink usually comes around six, after work, the limit you set in the morning is tested in the kitchen, with the fridge open and the day still on you. The craving at that moment is just a feeling. A glass of something else in your hand, or ten minutes outside, moves your attention to the room and the next thing to do.

The other half of the decision is tomorrow at 7 am. A good morning is mostly what is missing: no heavy head, no scrolling back through last night's messages, no wondering whether you were fine, the worry some people call hangxiety. Picturing that morning before the first drink is one way to decide the next hour, though research on it is early. Among 52 adults with moderate or severe drinking problems who completed a small 2022 trial, those practising future-event imagery for two weeks reported a larger fall in daily drinking than the comparison group, but breath measurements showed no significant difference, and the trial did not test picturing the next morning. If you want to try it, picture one ordinary detail of the morning you would like.

Quick answers

What can you drink instead when cutting back?

Lower-strength or alcohol-free versions of what you usually drink, water between drinks, or anything you enjoy at that hour. Check the stated strength (ABV): England's voluntary 2018 labelling guidance allows up to 0.05% ABV for "alcohol-free" drinks that had the alcohol removed, so the label does not always mean zero.

What can replace the evening drink?

Something you actually enjoy at the same hour: a walk, a shower, cooking, a call. The US National Institutes of Health lists distraction with another activity as one way to let an urge pass.

Should you tell people you are cutting back?

It can help. The NHS notes that if friends and family know it matters to you, you could get their support, and Alcohol Change UK suggests recruiting a trusted ally.

Will cutting back help you sleep?

The NHS says alcohol can disrupt your sleep patterns and stop you sleeping deeply, so cutting down should help you feel more rested when you wake up.

How can Morning Mirror help with the evening?

Morning Mirror is a drink less app for the evening: three minutes of audio before the first drink that show you tomorrow morning, so you decide from there. It does not count your drinks or set a limit for you; the tips above come from the NHS, the CDC and the studies linked. Morning Mirror is not connected to Alcohol Change UK or its Dry January campaign.