If dry January is too much for you, try its milder cousin – wet January
A new year is rolling around, and a chorus of people are banding together to give sobriety a chance — that is, for the month of January. Dry January, the month when some people abstain from alcohol as part of a New Year’s ritual, has grown in popularity since the term was first coined about a decade ago.
About 35% of US legal adults participated in Dry January 2022, up from 21% in 2019, according to the CGA, which provides data on the food and beverage industry.
What was once a simple New Year’s resolution has become a trend on social media and is even glamorized as something to try, whether for health reasons or just out of curiosity. The world has caught on, too, as many restaurants and bars are increasingly offering more mocktail options for those who want to join in the after-work spritz without feeling out of place.
But with overly ambitious New Year’s resolutions being broken too often, some have opted for dry January’s milder cousin: wet January.
Wet vs. dry January
Similar to Dry January, Damp January offers participants an opportunity to reflect on their relationship with alcohol.
“It can be a very thoughtful moment,” says Dr. Akhil Anand, psychiatrist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Drug and Recovery Center wealth. “Any reduction in alcohol consumption is really important,” adding that many people who make efforts to limit or avoid alcohol tend to find that they don’t need it to enjoy life as they once thought they did.
As the name suggests, the wet option doesn’t require you to stop drinking altogether. You decide what limits you set. With Damp January, people are making rules about alcohol consumption, ultimately capping their intake for 31 days.
For example, if you typically have 15 drinks a week, you can try cutting out a handful each week throughout the month and slowly cutting back on your alcohol consumption. Alternatively, you can choose drinks with a lower alcohol content. Someone can keep their glass of wine with dinner but avoid alcohol at work or in social situations. Others drink on certain days or at certain times of the week. It’s a personal choice, says Vedant Pradeep, the CEO and co-founder of Reframe, an alcohol-reduction app Wealth, what can empower.
“You’re making a decision to cut back and prioritize your health,” he says. “It’s a really good step in the right direction.”
Does dry or wet January improve health?
Excessive drinking, such as binge drinking, which has increased during the pandemic, has long-term health consequences, including the development of an alcohol use disorder, alcohol addiction, heart problems, the development of certain types of cancer, memory problems, depression and anxiety, and social problems. such as family and work problems, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Moderate drinking for adults, defined as two or fewer drinks per day for men and one or fewer drinks per day for women, can help curb these longer-term health problems.
It’s no wonder that abstaining from alcohol also has its advantages. One study found that for moderate to heavy drinkers who abstained from alcohol for a month, longer-term health benefits followed, such as improved insulin resistance, weight, blood pressure, and “a decrease in circulating levels of cancer-related growth factors.” People Anand works with have also reported better overall well-being, sleep and mood.
While some people are able to form better alcohol-related habits and feel more confident refusing a post-January drink after completing a month of sobriety, not everyone finds it easy to maintain the habit. A study in the UK found that after Dry January ended, many “felt freer to drink excessively at other times of the year, with binge drinking having a greater harmful effect”. The study calls for more research into how to measure the success of alcohol reduction and elimination campaigns. Still, Anand says reflecting on the month you cut alcohol can help people “get back on track” and that changing alcohol habits in the new year has its benefits.
Is a Wet January Right for You?
An intention and a why are important when assessing whether you should opt for a wet January. Start by noticing when you tend to drink and how it makes you feel—not just now, but afterwards.
Some people struggle with anxiety and find that alcohol makes their symptoms worse, Anand says. Others may have trouble sleeping or want to improve their productivity, all serving as an intention to limit consumption, especially when overwhelmed by a society that emphasizes alcohol in myriad contexts.
“We live in the culture we engage in, whether at work or socially with friends, [and] Alcohol is everywhere,” says Anand. Having an invention helps you find ways to substitute alcohol for other activities and even new hobbies.
As Anne Mahlum, fitness entrepreneur and founder of Solidcore, reflected on her consumption, she realized she had developed a bad habit with alcohol. She drank every day and regularly drank alone.
“If you start thinking about it and even wondering if you have a healthy relationship with alcohol, it’s probably telling you something,” she says. “I felt a little guilty. I was ashamed. I didn’t like that sometimes I woke up with a bit of a headache. I figured this just doesn’t fit with who I want to be.”
When figuring out how alcohol fits into your life, you should find places where you can trade drinking for something else, such as: B. Exercise, and see how you feel as you create new situations where alcohol doesn’t have to be the center of attention. All of this can help determine your intention to choose a wet or dry January.
For Mahlum, Damp January wasn’t the answer as the guidelines can be ambiguous. In her case, an abstention was required to assess her consumption. Still, everyone is different, she says.
Cold turkey may not work for everyone — or be sustainable. Some people may experience discomfort that makes it difficult to stay true to their abstinence goal through the 31-day mark. Wet January could be the alternative.
“You can slowly reduce [alcohol consumption] over time,” says Pradeep. “Your body can adapt to it much better.”
But for others, who withdraw beyond an uncomfortable feeling, including tremors (tremors), anxiety, an upset stomach, or changes in heart rate, there’s a more serious relationship to alcohol at play, Anand says. For someone with an alcohol addiction, both wet and dry January are unlikely to prove beneficial, he says. Instead, consider speaking to a family doctor or someone in the sober community.
