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The new year is the perfect opportunity to build sustainable, healthy habits. One popular wellness trend, Dry January, challenges people not to consume alcohol for a month.
John Callaci is a professor in the orthopedic surgery department at the Stritch School of Medicine. His research focuses on the negative effects of alcohol on bone health and healing as well as other impacts of alcohol on the body.
“Without getting into the gory details, there’s so many negative health consequences of alcohol. It’s not just fractures or osteoporosis,” Callaci explains. “There’s all kinds of cancer that’s associated with drinking— liver problems, brain problems, dementia.”
While these health consequences can be serious, Callaci explains that taking small steps to reduce alcohol consumption can be incredibly beneficial.
Here are some tips to make the most of an alcohol-free month:
1. Make achievable goals
While Dry January calls for total abstinence from alcohol, Misty January—decreasing alcohol intake—is also an option. Callaci’s research has unveiled that any amount of drinking has a negative health impact, but reducing alcohol intake leads to health benefits. “Instead of telling people you can’t drink, tell them just to try drinking occasionally,” Callaci said. “You still can enjoy a glass of wine or a beer or something when you go out with friends.”
Setting boundaries for alcohol intake, such as only drinking socially or cutting back on the number of drinks per outing can lead to improved sleep, lower blood pressure, and fewer headaches and cases of heartburn.
If you can just do little things that increase your chances of being healthy when you get older and they don't really affect you much and don't change much of your lifestyle, why not try?
— John Callaci , professor in the Stritch School of Medicine
2. Don’t do it alone
Whether it’s teaming up with a partner or friend, doing Dry January with a support system makes it more achievable. Stating goals out loud, writing them down, or telling a group can help with accountability and goal completion.
Not drinking may seem harder in a social circle that’s not participating in Dry January, but there are ways to diffuse the peer pressure. Callaci suggests not drawing too much attention to abstaining from alcohol and instead focusing on making memories with friends. Drinking soda water with lime or a mocktail can help you visually blend in with your group.
3. Explore new activities
Those participating in Dry January may see their social lives broadened as they explore new activities with friends that do not center around alcohol.
Callaci advises participating in “things that occupy you and you don’t think about. You’re not just sitting there thinking, ‘I wish I had a beer or something.’ Do things with friends that are active instead of doing things that are static.”
Joining a run club, doing arts and crafts, hosting a book club, and joining a pickup sports league are other ways to make connections without alcohol.
4. Assess your relationship with alcohol
By eliminating alcohol, individuals can address their personal triggers associated with drinking and determine how to handle those habits. One good way to measure the change over the course of the month is by updating any health and wellness changes in a journal, planner, or mobile app.
“People realize that sometimes they just get into patterns of doing things and they don’t really even realize why they’re doing them,” says Callaci. “I think maybe that’s a benefit of Dry January to ask yourself, ‘Why am I actually doing this, and what am I getting out of it?’”
Callaci encourages those on the fence to explore Dry January on a personal level without applying too much trend-influenced pressure. “If you can just do little things that increase your chances of being healthy when you get older and they don’t really affect you much and don’t change much of your lifestyle, why not try?”
