In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleLess BloatedNighttime Hot Flashes DisappearedSleeping BetterMore EnergyLost Weight
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
Less Bloated
Nighttime Hot Flashes Disappeared
Sleeping Better
More Energy
Lost Weight
Close
Photo:Design elements: Getty Images. Collage: Cassie Basford/EatingWell.
Design elements: Getty Images. Collage: Cassie Basford/EatingWell.
I have a complicated relationship with alcohol. I went to a college where binge drinking was a sport. While I tamed things once I graduated, I still had a deep appreciation for beer and wine. I used to wait in line for special releases at craft breweries. My father-in-law owns two prosecco vineyards in Italy, and he often rolls up to our house with boxes of wine. So it surprised many of my friends and family when I decided to give up drinking. And I don’t regret it one bit.
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To be honest, it was a snap decision. I got COVID this past fall, and as I was flipping through Apple News one night while isolating in our spare bedroom, I came across an article about how bad alcohol is for you. While we’ve been led to believe that light alcohol consumption (no more than a drink a day if you were born female and two if you were born male) could be good for you, a 2023 meta-analysis found that—sorry folks!—it’s not.
Since I hadn’t been drinking because of my illness, I thought, well, let’s give it a try and see how it goes. And 30 days later, I can’t tell you how good it’s felt to be booze-free. Here are all of the benefits I’ve noticed so far.
I’m Less Bloated
Since I gravitated toward beer as my alcoholic beverage of choice, I found that I was often bloated in the morning. Not anymore! Plus, things are just generally—ahem—moving better through my system when I’m not drinking alcohol. That could be becausealcohol is dehydratingand I’m drinking much more water now, especially at night. So if you’re particularly stopped up after a night of drinking, consider taking a few days off and drinking more water to see if that gets things moving.
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My Nighttime Hot Flashes Disappeared
I’ve always run on the hotter side, so when I went into menopause, I was excited that I didn’t get as many hot flashes as my friends and family had complained about. But while I didn’t have sheet-soaking night sweats, I did often wake up oh-so-very-hot in the middle of the night. Now that I’ve stopped drinking, that happens much less frequently. While it may not be related to my season of life, alcohol does cause your blood vessels to dilate, which in turn causes you to feel warm, and that can make you sweat. Did drinking alcohol make my night sweats worse? I think so, but that’s just my anecdotal experience.
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I’m Sleeping Better
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I Have More Energy
I mean, do I feel more energized because I’m sleeping better? Sure. But I think it’s more than that. Even if I only had a couple of drinks when I went to a concert with friends or split a bottle of wine with my husband at dinner, I inevitably woke up feeling icky the next day. Even if I went to bed at a reasonable time, I was still often really tired and cranky. It was unlikely that I got any exercise the following day, nor did I prioritize eating the healthiest meals. I’m just overall feeling better now. It’s much easier to get up in the morning to walk the dogs orwork out, and to just make healthier choices throughout the day.
I Lost Weight
I’ve struggled with my weight for years. And while the scale is certainly not the most important measure of overall health, my health care provider has suggested that my elevatedcholesterollevels could be due to my elevated weight. Shedding some pounds, she said, could help bring them back down. While I didn’t cut out alcohol to lose weight, it certainly helped. The dank, hazy IPAs I gravitate to clock in at 300 calories or more a can. Now, my nightly canned mocktail or juice and seltzer is a tiny fraction of that.
Plus, it’s not like I made the greatest choices when I did drink. When I came home after having a few drinks with friends, I often dug into leftovers I wasn’treallyhungry for. If I had even the mildest hangover, I definitely ate more than I would typically in a day. It all added up.
The Bottom Line
If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’m going to totally cut out alcohol forever. I don’t think that’s sustainable, nor do I like rules when it comes to eating and drinking. But ditching alcohol for more than a month has really shown me how much even one drink affected me. From getting a better night’s sleep and having more energy to losing weight, the benefits have been huge so far. I like thema lot. So if you’re thinking of Dry January or Sober October or just giving it up for a bit whenever it’s convenient for you, try it. You may be surprised, too.
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SourcesEatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Zhao J, Stockwell T, Naimi T, Churchill S, Clay J, Sherk A.Association Between Daily Alcohol Intake and Risk of All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses.JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(3):e236185. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.6185Sleep Foundation.Alcohol and Sleep.
Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Zhao J, Stockwell T, Naimi T, Churchill S, Clay J, Sherk A.Association Between Daily Alcohol Intake and Risk of All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses.JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(3):e236185. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.6185Sleep Foundation.Alcohol and Sleep.
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
Zhao J, Stockwell T, Naimi T, Churchill S, Clay J, Sherk A.Association Between Daily Alcohol Intake and Risk of All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses.JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(3):e236185. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.6185Sleep Foundation.Alcohol and Sleep.
Zhao J, Stockwell T, Naimi T, Churchill S, Clay J, Sherk A.Association Between Daily Alcohol Intake and Risk of All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses.JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(3):e236185. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.6185
Sleep Foundation.Alcohol and Sleep.
