If you intend to abstain from alcohol for a month and do the “Dry January”, this can have effects on your body. The benefits may vary from person to person. Those who drink excessively notice more pronounced effects. From changes in weight to your mind.
The positive effects of quitting alcohol can make abstinence well worth it.
1. It will improve your health
Some studies reveal that when the moderate drinkers stop consuming alcohol for a month, their body reduces cholesterol, glucose levels, blood pressure and even liver fat by a 40 percent. WebMD also notes a reduced chances of heart failure.
Alcohol can destroy cells and eventually organs. The more alcohol you drink, the more you damage your liver. alcoholic fatty liver disease is the earliest stage of liver disease due to alcohol consumption, the next stages are alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis. The good news, stop drinking in time and your liver can repair itself.
2. Change your mood
Alcohol is a depressant. Alcohol interferes with communication pathways of the brain and can affect the appearance and function of the brain. These alterations can change mood and behavior. Quitting alcohol for a month can cause your mood to improve.
3. Your memory improves
As we anticipated, alcohol has effects on your brain and can make it more difficult to think clearly, remember things and move with coordination . By quitting alcohol your brain can regain its abilities.
4. You will sleep better
Quitting alcohol can make you have a more restful sleep. Alcohol interrupts the important REM stage of sleep and can interfere with breathing. Not counting the times it makes you get up to urinate.
5. You can lose weight
Alcohol is caloric, the worst are mixed drinks, those that add juice, tonic or syrups. Some may have the same amount of calories as a meal, but without the nutrients. Alcohol favors abdominal fat, the famous beer belly and weight gain. When you stop drinking, thus reducing caloric intake, improves your mood and you sleep better , you may experience weight loss.
6. You will get sick less
Drinking alcohol in excess can weaken the immune system , making your body be a much easier target for disease ”, explains the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
Drinking a lot even once slows the ability of the body to protect itself from infection, even up to 24 hours after getting drunk. So staying without drinking alcohol can be an excellent way to boost your defenses.
7. It can improve your sex life
By giving up alcohol, your sex life can improve. A drink or two could increase sexual desire and disinhibition in a sexual encounter. But when the consumption is excessive it can decrease the response of the genitalia , both in men and in women.
Alcohol abuse has effects on short and long term. Men are more likely to experience erectile dysfunction. Women’s sexual desire may decrease, have less vaginal lubrication and difficulty reaching orgasm.
8. Your body may rebel
People with alcohol use disorder have a hard time stopping or control alcohol consumption. Among the symptoms of withdrawal , there may be trouble sleeping, tremors , restlessness, nausea, sweating , fast heartbeat or seizures . If this is your case, seek professional help.
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