If you decided at the start of 2025 to give your liver, bank balance and mental health a bit of relief by doing Dry January, you’re definitely not alone.
The initiative is a great way to re-assess your relationship with alcohol after the mania of Christmas and New Year, and even taking a short break can have its health benefits.
It’s so popular that an estimated 15.5 million people in the UK alone were planning on taking part this year, according to Alcohol Change UK.
If you decided to take the plunge and cut out alcohol this month, chances are you’ll be feeling better for it, even though the first week or two might have been rough.
But with the month almost over, experts have warned about falling into a certain trap that will prevent you from seeing the more important long-term benefits.
Health experts Trevor Connor and Griffin McMath from The Paleo Diet have issued a stark warning about a common mistake that many make when Dry January comes to an end, that could essentially un-do the progress that you have made.
It’s pretty common to be craving that first pint or glass of wine you’ll order when February rolls around.
However, if you really want to see the health benefits that can come from an extended alcohol break, drinking heavily again is a sure-fire way to throw a spanner in the works.
Griffin warned: “This isn’t meant to be a time where you just empty out your body of alcohol so that it can prepare itself for taking on more at a later date.
“This isn’t like taking a pail and scooping water out of your boat. It’s meant to be not just a reset, but a pivot.”
If you’ve abstained from alcohol in January so far, Griffin noted that you might be seeing some positive symptoms such as improved sleep, less anxiety and clearer skin.
However, any long-term benefits may be ‘completely negated’ come February if you start to heavily drink again.
Trevor warned: “If you just do it for a month and then go back to the way you used to drink, I don’t think you’re going to see any of the long-term benefits. If you maintain it, you will.
“You’re going to see reductions in inflammation. Getting inflammation down in our bodies is really important for us, that has an impact on almost every chronic disease. I think you’re going to see a lot of benefits for the microbiome of your gut, but that’s something that you need to sustain.
“If you go back to drinking regularly, the microbiome changes very rapidly. So it’s just going to go right back to where it was.”
If you’re keen to keep going into February and beyond either without drinking or simply doing it a little less, then Griffin also warned that you need to be careful about what you may be replacing alcohol with.
She said: “What you choose to replace [alcohol] with should still be a healthful option that matches the goals you went into Dry January with.
“Better sleep, clearer skin, less anxiety – you’re going to need to pick options that still don’t fuel that because of their sugar content or how often you’re slamming these drinks down.”
She also recommended trying to stick to a good routine and identifying when you’d usually be having a drink, and then replacing this with something different that’s going to be beneficial to your health, such as exercise – which creates powerful endorphins that can give your mental health a boost.