All around the world, there is an increasing trend of people going on month-long alcohol resets of sorts where they’re completely sober. Sober October, Dry January, and other similar month-long abstinence endeavors by health-conscious consumers are also on the rise. Such a trend is actually great and not without reason. Alcohol affects almost every organ system, from brain chemistry and sleep architecture to gut flora and liver metabolism. In case you’re wondering what actually goes on in your body when you go sober, this unsobered guide takes you through it, week by week.
Here is a week-by-week breakdown of what actually happens to your body once you stop drinking.
Your body clears ethanol within the first 24 hours of you not drinking alcohol. The production of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) normalizes and reduces fluid loss in your body. The regulation of your blood sugar, too, begins to stabilize.
If you were a particularly heavy drinker, you may experience mild withdrawal symptoms. These might include anxiety, night sweats, tremors, and sleep disturbances. This is because the neurotransmitters in your brain, such as GABA and glutamate, begin recalibrating.
Your gut microbiome also goes through significant changes. Gastric irritation, heartburn, and bloating begin to subside as the stomach mucosa heals. It is also likely that you will experience some difficulty in falling asleep. However, it is also likely that your deep sleep quality is improved and that, in turn, reduces your morning grogginess.
One of the many negative impacts of alcohol is that it suppresses Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. By week two, natural sleep cycles of your body return, and that results in vivid dreams, sharper daytime focus, and more sustained physical energy.
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You might also see certain changes in your weight. This is because cutting alcohol has resulted in the elimination of "empty" liquid calories, approx. 150 to 220 calories per glass/pint. If you don’t replace this with other high-sugar snacks, your body will experience a welcome change in the form of caloric deficit and subsequent weight change.
Another thing that helps is that ghrelin, which is the hunger hormone, and leptin, which is the satiety hormone, balance out as well. This aids in curbing late-night cravings. Furthermore, you might even experience a reduction in the redness and puffiness of your face, which is a result of tissue hydration improving and surface blood vessels contracting back to baseline.
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By the third week of stopping alcohol, your liver begins clearing all the triglycerides it accumulated when you were actively and frequently consuming alcohol. As a matter of fact, there are a number of clinical studies that show that just three to four weeks of alcohol abstinence can reduce liver fat content by up to 15 percent to 20 percent. It can even significantly improve liver stiffness markers.
Your heart health also begins improving significantly. One of the changes that occur is that your vascular resistance decreases, and your Systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels begin to drop. This reduces the overall strain on your cardiovascular system.
What is more, there is also a significant decrease in your insulin resistance. Actually, it can drop by 20 percent to 25 percent in just 30 days. This will eventually lower your long-term risk of getting type-2 diabetes and other metabolic syndromes.
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During this last week, your body has healed significantly. Another one of the many bad effects of consuming alcohol regularly and freely is that the white blood cell activity in your body is suppressed. However, during this fourth week of staying sober, your systemic inflammation has significantly subsided, and the white blood cell count in your body has also normalized.
Your skin also continues to heal. Collagen production is enhanced, and inflammatory acne/rosacea flare-ups also reduce. The pores also begin to appear tighter. Finally, your basal dopamine levels have also reset, and the uncoupling of anxiety with alcohol also lowers your baseline stress level. It improves your memory and the stability of your mood.
It is important to note that severe alcohol dependency requires medical supervision.
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If you undertake this sober period seriously, it can prove to be more than just a mental test. The 30-day alcohol-free period can actually be a profound systemic reset for your liver and cardiovascular system. It even has a positive impact on your gut as well as your brain chemistry.
