What does Dry January do to your body?
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In a 2018 observational study, people who took one month off alcohol showed median falls of 25.9% in insulin resistance, 6.6% in systolic blood pressure and 1.5% in body weight. Participants chose whether to stop or keep drinking, so the BMJ Open study shows what changed in that group rather than what any one person will experience; it measured what a month like Dry January does to your body, before and after.
What happens to your sleep without alcohol?
Alcohol can help you fall asleep faster, but it makes the second half of the night more broken and delays the first dream (REM) sleep. That is what a 2013 review of studies in healthy volunteers found; it describes alcohol's effect on the night, not how quickly sleep changes during Dry January.
In the participant survey further down, 71% said they slept better, which is a self-report rather than a sleep measurement.
What did researchers measure after a month?
They measured insulin resistance, blood pressure, weight and two growth factors before and after the month, in 94 people who chose to stop and 47 who kept drinking. In the group that stopped all of these fell, and the changes were not associated with changes in diet, exercise or smoking, although the lifestyle questionnaire may have missed some; the group that kept drinking showed no significant change.
| Measure | Median change after one month without alcohol |
|---|---|
| Insulin resistance (HOMA score) | 25.9% lower |
| Systolic blood pressure | 6.6% lower |
| Diastolic blood pressure | 6.3% lower |
| Weight | 1.5% lower |
| VEGF, a growth factor studied in cancer research | 41.8% lower |
| EGF, another growth factor | 73.9% lower |
The people in the study answered adverts, chose for themselves whether to stop, and were all measured at one London hospital, so the result describes them rather than everyone. Not every change was in a healthy direction: HDL cholesterol also fell. The study measured these markers, not disease, and it compared only before and after the month, so it cannot say what changes by day seven or what one month does to anyone's long-term risk.
Do people feel the difference?
Many say they do. A University of Sussex release from January 2019 reported that, among Dry January 2018 participants who answered its survey, 71% said they slept better, 67% had more energy and 58% lost weight.
These were self-reports from people who chose to answer, not measurements.
Do the changes last after January?
Drinking habits shifted for months among the people studied. Among 857 participants who answered all three surveys in a 2016 study, those who completed January drank on about one day fewer a week six months later, and those who did not finish also drank less often.
The 2018 study did not repeat the physical measurements after the month, so it cannot tell how long those changes lasted.
Is it safe to stop drinking all at once?
The organisers say Dry January is not suitable for anyone physically dependent on alcohol and suggest asking a doctor if you are unsure. If you drink heavily every day, stopping all at once can be risky: talk to a doctor first, who can help you cut down safely.
If you feel unwell or unsafe while cutting down, contact your local emergency services.
What does a January morning feel like?
If your evenings used to end with a few drinks, a January morning is mostly defined by what is missing. No nausea when you sit up, no scrolling back through last night's messages to check what you said, no slow first hour to get through before the day can start.
That is the picture worth holding on to at your usual drinking time, when the evening is vivid and tomorrow is not. The tips for Dry January guide is built around that hour.
Quick answers
Will I lose weight during Dry January?
Maybe a little. In a 2018 observational study, 94 people who chose to take a month off alcohol showed a median weight reduction of 1.5%, and in a 2019 University of Sussex release 58% of surveyed Dry January 2018 participants said they lost weight; individual results varied.
Is one month long enough to notice a change?
For the measures in the 2018 study, yes: the changes showed up after a single month. The sleep research describes alcohol's effect on the same night; it does not set out a timeline for Dry January.
What is Dry January?
A month without alcohol, every January since 2013, run by the UK charity Alcohol Change UK. The basics are in what is Dry January.
How can Morning Mirror help with the evenings?
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 measure your body; it is for the hour before the first drink.