If you’re interested in abstaining from alcohol for a while, whether it’s to save money, feel more alert in the mornings, or for any other number of reasons, you might expect some of the more obvious health benefits, like improved sleep. However, the unanticipated advantages of abstaining from alcohol may persuade you to do so for longer than just a Dry January.
Dr. Joseph Volpicelli, M.D., states that “the majority of us are aware of the health advantages of a period of sobriety.”. an expert on addiction tells Bustle. “For instance, giving up alcohol is linked to better sleep, a better mood, and even a better complexion with fewer puffy eyes and skin crow’s feet. He claims that many of the advantages of sobriety, despite being just as crucial to our long-term health and wellbeing, are less immediately apparent and may not be well known.
According to experts, quitting drinking can improve insulin resistance, lower the risk of cancer, and improve mental health in addition to reducing liver damage. Even though the results of those improvements don’t always show in the mirror, they still exist. The following list outlines seven long-term effects of quitting drinking.
Your liver’s stress will be decreased.
Your liver can begin to repair some of the harm caused by drinking after just one month of abstinence. George Koob, Ph.D. D. , director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), tells Bustle that a 2018 study in the journal Alcohol found that people had lower levels of harmful liver enzymes after a month of abstinence than at the beginning of the study.
He claims that although the elevated enzyme levels weren’t initially toxic, they did return to the normal range. “Given that these enzymes represent oxidative stress to the liver, a month of abstinence may be helpful. Even though you may not notice any differences, sobriety may be promoting the health of your liver. Long-term oxidative stress has been shown to contribute to liver disease, which can reduce life expectancy and make it difficult for the body to rid itself of toxins.
Your feeling of wellbeing might improve.
You might unintentionally feel happier with life after getting a taste of sobriety, according to research. According to a 2019 Canadian Medical Association Journal study involving more than 40,000 people, women in particular who gave up drinking reported significantly better feelings of wellbeing up to two years after doing so. A scale known as the SF-12 was used to measure happiness. It includes questions about social functioning, pain, emotions, and other aspects of both physical and mental health.
Despite the complexity of sobriety’s effects on mental health, research suggests that you may start to reap the rewards years after making the decision to stop using.
It might improve your sex life.
Your bedroom might experience an unexpected benefit from sobriety. Alcohol “provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance,” as Shakespeare put it, says Dr. Volpicelli to Bustle. “Many people believe that alcohol can increase sex drive and lower inhibitions, but it can also impair sexual performance and is a major contributor to erectile dysfunction. A higher libido, improved performance, and other advantages in bed may be felt by those who have made the decision to stop drinking. You may feel more confident about your choices in bed if you are sober because a 2018 study of nearly 700 people discovered that alcohol was also linked to regret after sex.
In general, you might want to drink less.
While you might anticipate cravings for alcohol during your first sober experience, that might not be the case. People who participated in Dry January felt less compelled to drink afterward, according to a 2016 Health Psychology study involving 850 participants. They didn’t drink nearly as much alcohol when their period of sobriety ended. Dry January may help you realize that you don’t need as much alcohol to have fun, but more research is required to confirm this. This may also be psychological.
It might lessen insulin resistance.
According to a 94-person study that was published in the British Medical Journal in 2018, those who had been sober for one month experienced a wide range of health benefits, including one that might have surprised you: decreased insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body begins producing more insulin as a result of failing to respond to signals from insulin to absorb glucose. It is well known to precede diabetes and other medical conditions. After just four weeks of abstaining from alcohol, the participants in the 2018 study displayed notable improvements in their insulin resistance.
It May Affect the Risk of Cancer.
The British Medical Journal study also looked at a number of growth factors that are known to increase the risk of developing cancer. They discovered that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) levels decreased in people who abstained from alcohol for a month. A growth factor is a protein that stimulates the growth of tissue, and VEGF and EGF are linked to colorectal and lung cancers, respectively. The effects of these growth factors on cancer risk in drinkers who abstain from alcohol have not been thoroughly studied over time, but the signals from the small study suggest the findings could be favorable.
From sleep to mental health, quitting drinking can have many advantages. But the benefits that are less obvious could actually have a significant impact on your life.
