January is a natural time for considering our own behavior and what we want to change for the new year. Like Brooke Shields, I shy away from setting firm resolutions. Really it just comes down to a tedious mental game for me, where if I declare a change another part of me will rebel and say “you’re not gonna tell me what to do!” It’s noisy in my head. Instead I try to make gentle suggestions to myself, and convince myself it’s hugely different from making resolutions. (I know I’m ridiculous, I know.) A similar popular new year’s practice is Dry January, wherein you abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages for the duration of the month. People Mag spoke to Dr. Rocco Iannucci, MD — director of the Fernside Residential Treatment Program at McLean Hospital and Psychiatry Instructor at Harvard Medical School — about the benefits of Dry January, both mental and physical.
Your liver will thank you: First and foremost, Dr. Iannucci points out that abstaining from alcohol throughout January is “helpful for your liver.” He adds that abstaining for “relatively short periods of time” can have a positive impact. “People with significant liver inflammation related to alcohol will oftentimes see their markers of inflammation go back to normal within the course of a month, and that’s people who have a significant level of alcohol intake,” he explains. “Alcohol is a toxin to the liver,” Dr. Iannucci continues. “The good news is the liver up to a point has a lot of capacity to heal and so giving it that chance to heal can be really helpful.”
Alcohol disturbs our sleep rhythms: “The thing that I think many don’t realize is that even small amounts of drinking do disturb your sleep… Most people will notice the immediate effects of alcohol,” Dr. Iannucci says, citing the ability to fall asleep earlier as an example. But while this is true for many people, he says alcohol consumption can also cause “morning awakening and fitful sleep… That can happen with half a drink,” he explains. “It doesn’t take much for alcohol to start to disturb our sleep rhythm so that our sleep isn’t as restorative as it would be otherwise.”
The potential for weight loss: “I think we can underestimate the degree to which alcohol adds calories — and they’re ‘empty’ calories, meaning they really don’t have any nutritional value,” he explains of the oftentimes “quickly consumed” beverages. “Especially in the forms of sugary drinks, you don’t really notice how much you’re taking in.” While the amount of weight lost during Dry January differs per person… Dr. Iannucci says that “many people find that they lose weight during the course of a Dry January.” Drinking aside, new activities during Dry January can aid in weight loss, especially if your weekends or weeknights usually revolved around alcohol.
Strength in numbers: And while “stopping alcohol” may cause “younger people or people who are dating” to fear “isolation” during Dry January, Dr. Iannucci says joining forces for the month of abstinence can make things easier. He suggests convincing some friends to participate or finding support online. “People will do that through social media and or through apps to help support Dry January and can give you that sense of being connected a little bit more.”
The attempt is beneficial, whatever the results: Whether people fully committed to Dry January or opted for a Damp January (cutting back on alcohol over the month), Dr. Iannucci says “both” attempts “offer benefits because you make a change in your behavior… People can sometimes see themselves as having failed it,” a mindset he doesn’t view as helpful because the attempt is beneficial alone. “I think it’s really kind of a win-win,” he says. “Whether you are able to not drink the entire month or whether you do sometimes drink in that month, you’re still likely to see some benefits in terms of psychological health and physical health,” Dr. Iannucci explains. “So it’s worth doing… What we don’t want to do is beat ourselves up over trying to do something good.”
Full disclosure: I barely drink, so I actually have done a Dry January, completely unwittingly. For me personally, I just substituted Coca Cola (which I’ve been imbibing way too much lately) for all of the merits Dr. Iannucci lists above. The benefits still hold up for soda! And I’ve already failed for a soda-less January! Sorry Dr. Iannucci, I know you said not to use that word. Most of what Dr. Iannucci says here makes sense. It’s stuff we probably know already, but it’s still a helpful boost to see it presented together in a compelling argument. Elsewhere in the interview Dr. Iannucci stresses that it’s important to acknowledge that everyone is different and will therefore have a different Dry January experience. Your relationship to alcohol before trying a Dry January is a big factor, as is, well, pretty much everything else. Which is why Dr. Iannucci also notes that consulting with your doctor first is the safest way to start a Dry January.
Whatever your goals are for January and beyond (I’m intrigued by CB’s article on thinking about doing less), be kind to yourself along the way. Cheers Bitches, I raise my glass of seltzer in toast to you all!
Photos credit: Cottonbro studios on Pexels
