And he has opened new sober bars in Kansas City, Mo., and western Massachusetts. After one month, the researchers documented a reduction in the participants’ GGT. The members of this taking a break from alcohol club work out, have demanding jobs and simply don’t want to feel foggy or hungover anymore. If you begin to experience any of these symptoms, please seek a physician’s care.

Alcohol Use Disorder: After You Quit Drinking

While drinking could help you fall asleep, it suppresses REM sleep, the restorative part of your sleep cycle, Dr. Leavey says. That might explain why you can have a fitful night of tossing and turning after you’ve been out drinking. For that reason, “some people might lose weight when they stop drinking,” James J. Galligan, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology and toxicology and director of the neuroscience program at Michigan State University, tells SELF. How fast you’d potentially lose weight ultimately depends on how much you were drinking beforehand. It can also be helpful to focus on activities that don’t usually involve alcohol. Encourage your friends to meet up in the morning for breakfast, for example, or suggest healthy activities where alcohol is less likely to be present.

Just note that you might overdo it if you start drinking again.

“As a result, the liver has to work harder and longer to recover from the effects of alcohol,” he says. Alcohol can also cause inflammation in your liver, which keeps it from doing its job well—which is clearing out toxins from your body and turning fat into energy to keep you fueled, Dr. Galligan says. In our alcohol-centric society, it sometimes feels uncomfortable when everyone around you is drinking and your own hands are empty. Choose a healthier alternative like sparkling water, soft drink or a mocktail. You might hear psychologists refer to something called the “rule violation effect”.

Stand back and ask: ‘How does drinking serve me?’

“It is also important to notice what happens to your emotions when you stop alcohol use. If you have been using alcohol to manage difficult or uncomfortable emotions or experiences, those emotions will intensify shortly after you quit using. In these cases, it is important to seek professional help to address and resolve those difficulties,” she adds. If you’ve thought about it and want to try sobriety, for a brief period of time or for who-knows-how-long, getting started can be simpler than you think.

All that sugar (a drug in its own right), combined with the pleasure of feeling “buzzed” can break down our filters and release suppressed thoughts and feelings. This can lead to moments just as fun as what’s depicted in those alcohol advertisements. But just as frequently things can become sloppy, or take a detrimental toll over time.

Drugs & Supplements

If you manage to limit alcohol consumption beyond a monthlong break, it could improve your heart health and reduce the risk of stroke and certain cancers. “A short-term break from alcohol will allow the liver cells to recover from the persistent toxic injury from the alcohol,” Larson said. Sometimes called alcoholic hallucinosis, these can show up within 12 to 24 hours after you quit. Tell your doctor if you see, hear, or feel things that aren’t there. But it’s important to know if something more serious is going on. Many people don’t always know how much alcohol they drink and whether their drinking could have any impact on their health.

• One listener described his realization to me that he’d been using alcohol as, quote, “a numbing agent.” And he told me not drinking made him kind of show up for his life, feel more present.
• Why not try organising a game of beach volleyball, or a sushi-making night, or a home movie marathon.
• Speak to a GP who will be able to support you in your journey to reduce your drinking safely.
• The proliferation of craft mocktails made with nonalcoholic distilled spirits is making it easier and more fun for people who abstain from alcohol to feel like they are still part of the party.