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Every year, millions of people participate in "dry January," where they abstain from alcohol for the entire month. Research has found that staying sober for even a month can have some significant health benefits.
What 'dry January' does to your body
The tradition of dry January started in 2013 as a challenge by the Alcohol Change UK charity to reduce "alcohol harm." By 2025, 21% of U.S. adults said they planned to participate in dry January, according to a poll by YouGov.
Alcohol has increasingly been linked to a variety of health problems. In January 2025, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said alcoholic beverages should carry warning labels about the link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk. He added that alcohol directly contributes to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 related deaths each year and that alcohol use has been directly tied to at least seven types of cancer.
In addition, a 2025 study published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine found that no amount of alcohol is safe in terms of dementia risk.
But research has found that abstaining from alcohol for even a single month can lead to some health benefits.
"Research has consistently shown that abstaining from any alcohol has several global physical health benefits," said Amy Swift, deputy CMO at Silver Hill Hospital. Swift said that if you participate in dry January, you can expect to see improvements in your blood pressure and resting heart rate, as well as improvements in your BMI due to weight loss, in as little as one week.
"Other things, such as improved hydration, brighter-looking skin due to decreased inflammation, and a steadier mood, also present after the first week," Swift said.
Alcohol can also have a significant impact on sleep quality. According to Swift, even moderate alcohol consumption can affect your sleep. "After two weeks without alcohol, you can expect sleep to become deeper, more restorative, and less fragmented," she said.
It's also likely you'll notice improvements in your endurance or strength, or that you're not eating sugar-filled foods as much throughout the day. "Longer term improvements in immune function, lower cancer risk, and improved digestive health have also been supported in the medical evidence," Swift said. However, she noted that these changes are "invisible to the naked eye and may not be appreciable if alcohol use resumes at a moderate level after January."
A recent review of 16 studies on dry January published in Alcohol and Alcoholism found that even a short pause in alcohol use was linked to improvements in physical and psychological health, including changes in blood pressure, insulin resistance, blood glucose, liver function, and cancer-related growth factors.
Even those who didn't abstain from alcohol for the full month reported health benefits, including better mental well-being a month later, and had "decreased drinking frequency, reduced drunkenness, and lower alcohol consumption" six months later, the review found.
"Given that there weren't huge reductions in drinking … I thought it was impressive that they found some of those physical health benefits around lowered blood pressure and liver abnormalities," said Daniel Blalock, a medical associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine, who wasn't involved in the review.
In another 2017 study, researchers enrolled 64 heavy drinkers in a four-week abstinence program and measured liver stiffness at baseline and at the end of the month. Researchers found that 80% of those who abstained from drinking saw an improvement in their liver stiffness, an average of a 15% reduction.
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How to limit your alcohol consumption
Megan Strowger, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Buffalo and lead author of the BMJ review, said dry January is a helpful opportunity.
"What really makes [d]ry January successful is its massive reach and unique, non-stigmatizing approach; it focuses on the positive, accessible health outcomes of taking a break, rather than dwelling on participants' prior drinking habits or issues of addiction," she said.
But if you're not ready to give up alcohol entirely this January, you could try "[d]amp January," where Strowger says "the goal is to reduce consumption rather than attempt full abstinence, making the shift feel more manageable."
"It helps prevent what we call the 'abstinence violation effect,' where if you fall off the wagon, you say, 'Forget it, I might as well just get really drunk since I haven't met my goal of complete abstinence," Blalock said.
Tracking your progress and writing down when you drink and how it makes you feel can also be a helpful tool for dry or damp January, according to George F. Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. You can either use the Notes app on your phone or use digital tools like the Try Dry app.
Creating a social environment that supports your goal to drink less is important too, Blalock said. For example, you might join a running club for a run on a Saturday morning, making you less inclined to drink the night before so you can wake up feeling fresh.
Koob notes that exercise is one of his go-to recommendations for drinking less. It can help you cope with stress, rather than relying on alcohol. "Taking a walk clears your brain, and you come back and you don't need that drink in order to relax," he said.
"Dry January really helps evaluate your relationship with alcohol," Koob added. It could lead you to pay more attention to how much and when you're drinking and how you feel the next day.
"If you feel better when you're not drinking, you should listen to your body, because it's telling you something," he said.
(Mactas, Delish, 1/1; Klein, Washington Post, 12/27/25; Wilson, Medscape, 1/6)
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