Have you heard of Dry January? It's a campaign by the UK charity Alcohol Concern (registration.dryjanuary.org.uk). The idea is to cut out all alcohol for a month after the excesses of Christmas, where you may go to a lot of parties and consume a lot of drinks. So what are the advantages of cutting out alcohol for a month? You'll find there are a lot of benefits …
If you counted how many calories you're taking on from alcoholic drinks, you'd probably be astonished. It might not be the Christmas food that accounts for those extra pounds! So if you're concerned about your weight, follow Dry January and you could lose quite a few pounds. You'll also lose some inches around your waist.
Be honest - do you really enjoy waking up with a hangover after a night out? It also gets harder to cope with as you get older. Give up alcohol for a month and enjoy waking up with a clear head. You'll also be able to enjoy your Sundays instead of feeling like death warmed up all day.
Do you think that having a drink before you go to bed is going to help you sleep? Quite the opposite. That nightcap could be the reason you wake up not feeling refreshed. Alcohol actually interrupts your sleep patterns and can cause you to wake up more. You may also need to get up during the night to use the bathroom.
You could be spending quite a bit of cash on alcoholic drinks if you go out regularly or buy alcohol to drink at home. Wouldn't that money be better used on something else instead? Total up your spending on alcoholic drinks over the course of the month, and you could be unpleasantly surprised at how much cash you're wasting. It goes in one end and out the other, after all!
One of the visible advantages of abstaining from alcohol shows in your face. You'll have much better skin, as alcohol dehydrates you. Drinking can age you, and who wants to look older than they need to? See how much better your skin looks after a 'dry' month and you won't want to go back to your old drinking habits.
Another bonus of giving up alcohol for a month is that you'll have improved energy levels. You'll feel better overall, and your body will be able to make better use of the nutrients you're taking in. Also you won't be dehydrated.
Have you heard anyone say that you can't have a good night out without drinking? They couldn't be more wrong. Avoid alcohol for a time and you will discover that you don't actually need alcohol to enjoy yourself. There are other - and better - ways to have fun.
Of course, there's no point taking a month off alcohol and then resuming previous high consumption. January is a good time to examine your drinking habits and assess if you're drinking too much and too often. If so, work on having alcohol as an occasional treat, and not an essential part of a good night out. Have you ever been told that someone who doesn't drink is boring?