{"id":47765,"date":"2021-12-28T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-12-28T15:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=47765"},"modified":"2025-01-30T18:49:21","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T23:49:21","slug":"what-happens-when-you-stop-drinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/what-happens-when-you-stop-drinking\/","title":{"rendered":"What happens when you stop drinking?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The holiday season is filled with good spirits\u2014including the kind that comes inside a bottle. Surveys indicate that Americans drink twice as much during the holiday season than they do at other times, and one study says alcohol consumption peaks on Christmas Day and New Year\u2019s Eve. All that imbibing can take a physical, mental, and even a financial toll. If you\u2019ve overindulged this holiday season, you might consider a Dry January challenge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dry January is a public health campaign in which people abstain from drinking alcohol for the first month of the year. Research is mixed about whether the challenge helps people cut back on alcohol consumption long term, but giving up booze, even temporarily, can improve your health. Participants in one Dry January challenge reported that after a month alcohol-free, they slept better, lost weight, lowered their blood pressure, and their <\/span>liver fat<\/span><\/a> decreased by 40%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlcohol affects virtually every organ in the body, and its effects depend on how much<\/span><\/p>\n

and for how long you drink,\u201d notes Joseph R. Volpicelli, MD, Ph.D., founder of the Volpicelli Center in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and executive director of the Institute of Addiction Medicine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201c<\/span>Recent research<\/span><\/a> shows that alcohol can have harmful physical and emotional effects at lower doses than most people realize. The <\/span>USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans<\/span><\/a> now states that drinking may be problematic if it exceeds more than a drink a day for females and two drinks a day for males. During the pandemic, alcohol drinking increased for many Americans, and considering a Dry January can help show if you have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol,\u201d <\/span>Dr. Volpicellii<\/span><\/a> says. <\/span>The good news is at least some of that damage can be reversed when you stop drinking.<\/span><\/p>\n

What happens when you stop drinking alcohol?<\/span><\/h2>\n

If alcohol affects nearly every organ in your body, then it makes sense that quitting or limiting your intake of booze can give health rewards from head to toe. How significant those rewards are and how quickly they\u2019re felt will vary from person to person and depend on a person\u2019s genetics and how much and often they drink.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDiscontinuing unhealthy alcohol consumption will markedly improve both your short-term and long-term health,\u201d says <\/span>Lewis Nelson, MD<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and Director of the Division of Medical Toxicology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>To some extent, the health effects of heavy drinking can be reversed, and all of them can be slowed once alcohol consumption is ended,\u201d Dr. Nelson says. \u201cThe greatest beneficiaries are the liver, heart, and brain, but all organs, including your muscles, kidneys, and even skin, will benefit since alcohol damages nearly every cell in your body. Some of our organs are excellent at self-repair, and if damage is not irreversible, improvement can occur.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kidney function often remains normal despite alcohol abuse. So, abstaining from alcohol will not improve kidney function appreciably, unless kidney function is reduced due to other health issues. Muscle wasting can occur with alcohol due to decreased physical exertion and poor food choices, not actually from the alcohol intake.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to remember that not everyone’s the same. Some may feel better quicker than others or have different reactions, but here is a typical timeline of what happens to your body when you stop drinking:<\/span><\/p>\n

First day without alcohol<\/span><\/h3>\n

Depending on how much alcohol you regularly consume, the first day without it may be unpleasant. In the first two to 24 hours, you may experience a hangover or withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol withdrawal can cause sweating, fast heart rate, hand tremors, vomiting, retching, restlessness, anxiety, and feelings of depression.<\/span><\/p>\n

Heavy drinkers should only stop drinking under medical supervision because of the risk of delirium tremens (DTs), <\/span>a severe and potentially life-threatening withdrawal from alcohol that can result in seizures, hallucinations, and other physical symptoms that need to be monitored and treated in a controlled medical setting.<\/span><\/p>\n

First week without alcohol<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cHeavy alcohol drinkers may have a week-long period of abstinence-related withdrawal, which can include anxiety, sweating, vomiting, tremor, and high heart rate, and often requires medical assistance,\u201d says Dr. Nelson. \u201cOnce this is complete, if it occurs, you will feel overall healthier, with more energy, nearly immediately.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alcohol is a depressant. As such, after the first week of not drinking you may notice:<\/span><\/p>\n