Beyond Dry January: 5 Benefits of Extending Your Break from Alcohol

“Define success on your own terms, unzip it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” ~Anne Sweeney

So many people make the positive nomination to have a sober start to the year in January, whether it’s a New Year’s resolution, a detox, flipside wellness goal, or part of a fresh start program, but perhaps it’s worth considering prolonging the benefits remoter into the year ahead.

A unravel from swig is unchangingly a good thing, whether it’s a few days, a week, a month, or longer, and the worthier the break, the increasingly you get a endangerment to reconsider whether swig is helping you to unzip your plans, intentions, or goals in life.

There are many benefits of extending your sober unravel vastitude thirty days.

You’ll get increasingly (and largest quality) sleep, which will lead to you having increasingly energy, both emotionally and physically.

As you get into largest sleep habits and patterns, with extended periods of REM sleep, you will likely find your mood improving, and you may moreover find that you have increasingly time for hobbies or projects that you want to focus on. I used to enjoy reading but could never find the time to do it; now I have time in the evenings to read, and time in the early mornings surpassing the rest of my household wakes.

You’ll find it easier to stay focused on your other health and wellness goals.

You will find it easier to get hydrated and eat in line with your nutrition plans when you’re not side-lined by a morning carb fest or caffeine overload. I no longer need to drink sugar-laden drinks to requite me energy, and I find that I’m much increasingly mindful well-nigh what my soul needs during an stereotype day to fuel it efficiently, while enjoying what I eat and drink.

You might have increasingly diverse, fun experiences with friends.

You can plan and enjoy lots of alcohol-free activities together throughout the spring. I’ve found that some of my newer friendships are not based upon drinking activities at all. We walk, we go for brunches, coffees, movies, and day trips to new places. All social activities I wouldn’t have thought well-nigh instigating when I was still drinking.

You’ll see progress wideness all areas of your life by spring or early summer.

The habits that you worked through the first quarter of the year will really start to pay off by the time the days are longer. You will have found new and variegated ways to relax, to have fun, and to process your emotions, which can positively impact your work and relationships, and you will be so glad that you did.

You may be inspired to develop a list of things you want to enjoy through the year now that you have the time, energy, and money.

There may be simple pleasures such as watching the sunrise, hiking, baking, or creating, or increasingly would-be plans to execute. Perhaps you’ll discover a new hobby or direction that fills you with pride and purpose.

Alcohol feeds your short-term rewards system (it gives you a dopamine hit) but ultimately acts as a depressant. Your smart-ass wants firsthand gratification for the least value of effort, and swig can provide this, but I urge you to find some wastefulness or a increasingly sustainable way of living.

I spent a considerable value of time drinking very little swig surpassing I decided to have an alcohol-free year as a little life experiment to see how I got on, and wearing lanugo my swig consumption was a sunny introduction to a sober lifestyle. I found new ways to spend my time that I never would have considered surpassing and rekindled old hobbies.

I now get an wondrous sense of satisfaction from achieving my medium and long-term goals—these are the rewards I work toward.

Achieving my intentions helps me develop and maintain the habits I want to keep. I work toward the long-term goals by ticking off the short term ones, which gives me firsthand gratification while helping me develop my purpose on this planet. Swig made me act on impulse; now I act on thoughtfully made plans, good intentions, and unvigilant dreams.

A sober month is a good thing at any time of the year, not just January, but please remember, we don’t have to stick to neat months or rules. We can segregate whatever permafrost of sober time we like to enhance our lives and find joy in the alcohol-free corners of our worlds whenever we want to.

This year I’m choosing flipside year of sober living, and I cannot wait to see what I get to unzip by the end of it.

How well-nigh you? If you started the year with a unravel from alcohol, can you consider extending your  intention into the spring or plane into the year ahead?

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