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Dry January, a month of alcohol-free lightness. Trying is believing

December 31, 2021

Dry January – an alcohol-free month – is a collective challenge that aspires to involve as many people as possible.

That’s why it’s worth experimenting with a month of lightness and finding out how to do it, even with the help of the Try Dry app.

Table of Contents

Dry January, a month off

Dry January
is based on a simple principle, do not drink alcoholic beverages during the entire month of January. A nice opportunity, after the holidays that record their highest consumption, to give yourself a break:

– to the body, as opposed to the one ‘non-nutritive nutrient’. That is, a substance with as much as 7 kcal/g (equal to that of butter), which does not contribute to nutrition and in fact disturbs it, hindering digestion and metabolism, (1)

– to the mind, which does not need variable alterations in the state of consciousness to express itself at its best (citing Frank Zappa) or even to mitigate depressive symptoms. Which alcohol, in spite of transient euphoria, instead aggravates. (2)

Lightness

Try it to believe-perhaps even with alternative soft drinks to traditional ones (e.g. beer, wine and aperitifs 0% alc. vol.) – the authentic lightness of a month in sobriety, for body and mind. It already takes only a few days to feel the difference, and that is what explains the success of the campaign.

Immediate benefits

Alcohol Change
, the protagonist of Dry January in the UK, offers candid survey data on participants in previous editions. 86% save money, 70% sleep better, and 66% feel more energy. In addition to brighter skin. Immediate benefits, no tricks.

Research conducted by the Royal Free Hospital and published in the British Medical Journal (Mehta et al., 2018), shows how a month off can lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol. As well as reducing the risk of diabetes and cancer-related protein levels in the blood. (3)

The app and coaching

The Try Dry app-for Apple and Android devices-and email coaching offered by Alcohol Change UK provide stimulation for those participating in this collective challenge. (4) With practical and effective support available to all.

‘Living without alcohol for 31 days shows us that we do not need alcohol to have fun, relax or socialize. It helps us learn the skills we need to manage our drinking. This means that for the rest of the year we will be better able to decide when and how much to drink, so that we avoid slipping into drinking more than we want to‘(Alcohol Change UK).

Unforgettable well-being

Six months after ‘sober January,’ more than 70 percent of people who followed it continue to drink healthier. As well as increased levels of well-being and general self-efficacy, as shown in research conducted by the University of Sussex on 4,232 participants (de Visser et al., 2020. See footnote 5).

Santé publique France
– the public research institute that designed the NutriScore-commissioned a qualitative study based on interviews with Dry January 2020 participants and non-participants in France. For many of the participants interviewed, following Dry January was ‘easier than expected,’ with a number of benefits:

– ‘a feeling of energy, of being fitter, partly related to better sleep.’

– ‘weight loss, better digestion, better skin‘,

– ‘but the most important thing seems to have been the pride of having accepted the challenge!‘ (6)

Awareness, social pressure and support

‘The participants they often became aware of alcohol’s place in society and in their lives, were able to take stock of their consumption by identifying the drinks they really wanted and breaking automatisms, rethinking certain habits (new activities), and reassuring themselves about their ability to control their consumption and resist pressure from those around them.‘ (6)

Social pressure is the first obstacle faced by Dry January 2020 participants in France. ‘In the social and sometimes professional sphere, when not drinking, it is common to be faced with misunderstanding, derision, rejection, criticism… Some men have also realized that alcohol is often associated with virility‘. Therefore, mutual support among participants, such as that of close people(partners, colleagues, friends), is important to succeed in the challenge. As well as following qualified advice. (7)

Myopic market

The market is myopic. Alternative drinks are still limited, scarcely available, unattractive or even too sweet or too expensive, according to French consumers. Unavailable in food service and food delivery, we add.

The culture of alcohol-free drinking has spread with unexpected success in a country of heavy drinkers such as England, as we have seen. (8) While in Italy it is still difficult – indeed almost impossible – to order a non-alcoholic beer with pizza, the world is moving on.

Try it to believe.

Dario Dongo

Notes

(1) Alcohol inhibits the breakdown of nutrients into usable molecules by decreasing the secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas. It also compromises nutrient absorption, damaging the cells lining the stomach and intestines and disabling the transport of some nutrients into the bloodstream. And when nutrients are digested and absorbed, alcohol can prevent them from being fully utilized by altering their transport, storage and excretion. V. NIAA(National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, USA), No. 22 PH 346, Oct. 1993. https://bit.ly/3sUR9on

(2) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Coronavirus, why eliminate or minimize alcoholic beverage consumption. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 6.4.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/coronavirus-perché-eliminare-o-ridurre-al-minimo-i-consumi-di-bevande-alcoliche

(3) Gautam Mehta et al. (2018). Short-term abstinence from alcohol and changes in cardiovascular risk factors, liver function tests and cancer-related growth factors: a prospective observational study. BMJ Open 2018;8:e020673. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020673

(4) Dry January (2022). Alcohol Change, UK. https://alcoholchange.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/dry-january

(5) Richard O. de Visser, James Nicholls (2020). Temporary abstinence during Dry January: predictors of success; impact on well-being and self-efficacy. Psychology & Health, 35:11, 1293-1305, doi: 10.1080/08870446.2020.1743840

(6) Société française d’alcoologie (2020). Évaluation qualitative du Défi de Janvier – Dry January 2020 Logiques d’engagement et expériences des participants. Alcoologie et Addictologie, no. 43/2021

(7) SEE https://www.vivre-cancer.fr/actualites/relever-ledefidejanvier/

(8) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Quality zero-alcohol bubbles, the unexpected success in the UK market. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 3.1.20, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/bollicine-di-qualità-a-zero-alcol-l-inatteso-successo-sul-mercato-uk

(8) France: le “dry january” entre l’absence de soutien de l’État et le poids des lobbies viticoles. RFI. 2.1.22, https://www.rfi.fr/fr/france/20220102-france-le-dry-january-entre-l-absence-de-soutien-de-l-%C3%A9tat-et-le-poids-des-lobbies-viticoles