Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here. This episode talks about alcohol use and a little about misuse. So if you're not up for that today, go ahead and skip it and take care of yourself. Okay, It's a new year, and that means millions are ditching alcohol in hopes that a dry January will be what they need to start a new decade right.
A Journal of the American Medical Association study published in September found that alcohol use had increased four that year over nineteen. This increased drinking may bonivate even more people to try a dry January, but what happens when the lucks come off the liquor cabinet February one. Many nutritionists recommend moderation over drastic diets, but with booze, cold turkey can actually work. A research from the University of Sussex found that a dry January rarely leads to have wet February.
In fact, participants of the study ended up drinking less in February and for the rest of the year. The research studied more than eight hundred dry January participants to analyze their drinking patterns, afterward, the results might persuade skeptics.
On average, Dry January participants afterward went from drinking four point three to three point three times per week, They consumed less alcohol when drinking eight point six units down to seven point one units, and their frequency of being drunk went from three point four to two point one instances per month. Even those who slipped up during their
Dry January attempts still reported decreased drinking over time. According to Alcohol Change UK, a nonprofit think tank raising awareness about the dangers of alcohol, this shift occurs because Dry January participants realized that they don't actually need alcohol in their lives. They wrote in a blog post that realization is a powerful thing. It means that for the rest of the year, having a drink can be a choice, not a default. Dry January becomes almost like a training period,
they say. Participants learn how to adapt to social situations without booze and how to turn down a drink even though saying yes is so much easier. The author of the article that this episode is based on, Stephanie Vermillion, admitted that she had always shrugged off dry January is just another fad, but that speaking with participants changed her mind. Take Ohio resident Megan Luce Singer, a former casual drinker
who used to spend her January's booze free. She reported feeling so refreshed after her twenty nineteen dry January that she ended up ditching the alcohol entirely. Litch, Singer said via email after giving it up for good, I don't miss it at all. I'd say going alcohol free for a month is actually harder than giving it up for good, because once February came around, I was like, oh, now I can have a glass of wine at dinner again. I didn't over indulge in February, but it was more
of a countdown to get there. For Ohio exercise enthusiast Chris Rotterier, dry January is a chance to rebalance and get healthier after holiday revelry. With multiple dry Januaries under his belt, Rotterier has not only realized that he doesn't need alcohol, he also feels drastically better without it, He said via email. When you go dry for a period, you realize even more how even two drinks can affect you the next day. I haven't had the desire to
binge at any time. I think it serves as an eye opener as to how much better you feel without alcohol. Rotterier's health improvements are not a dry January placebo effect. Drinking less alcohol over the course of the year can do wonders for the human body, starting with two of the most important changes, better sleep and sharper concentration. A study in the journal Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research seems
to back that up. It found that alcohol quote may exert an arousal influence, which may compete with the sleep maintenance influence of increased delta activity. This may have negative implications for the impact of pre sleep alcohol consumption on sleep and consequent daytime functioning. Several other studies have shown that drinking too much alcohol leads to sugar cravings, over eating,
and dry looking skin. The University of Sussex found that most dry January participants had more energy, lost weight, slept better, and had better concentration. So although we're halfway through the month already, if you do drink and have been thinking about trying a dry patch, go ahead and ditch the drinks. It seems unlikely that you'll bingeine February, and you might even end up drinking less for the rest of the year. Today's episode was written by Stephanie Vermilion and produced by
Tyler Klang. For more in this and lots of other topics, visit howstuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.