A medium glass of dry white wine contains around 1.4g of sugar. Photo / DepositPhotos
Improved sleep, more confidence and higher energy levels are just a few of the benefits of giving up drinking – even for just a short period.
In September, I felt anxious. My sleep was poor. I had mild feelings of paranoia and my inner critic was becoming louder, telling me I was a failure. I’d put on weight, weighing 83kg with a body mass index of 28.7 kg/m² (which falls into the overweight category) and a high 41% body fat percentage.
After work, the temptation to go to the pub for a glass of wine on my own on the way home was growing stronger.
I know a little about how dangerous this slope can be. My dad’s destructive drinking habits led to a decades-long estrangement. Happily he spent many years in recovery, with the support of Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step programmes. Ultimately, though, he ended his own life at 64.
Addiction can run in families, but I plan to live a long, healthy life. Tackling my most challenging vice – even if for only a month – seemed a good place to start.
At 33, I’m what Alcohol Change UK describes as a “messy middle” or sober-curious drinker. This year, I’ve hovered around the Government’s recommended guidelines for “low-risk” drinking, which is 14 units per week. (In New Zealand, the guideline is no more than 10 units per week for women and 15 for men.)
For me that usually amounts to eight medium 175ml glasses of 13% ABV wine a week.
And while it doesn’t sound very much, it’s not ideal for my waistline. A medium glass of dry white wine contains around 1.4g of sugar, according to Drinkwell, and up to 158 calories (661 kilojoules) a pop (that’s a whopping 5056 forgettable calories a month). Nor at £8 ($18.40) a drink is it very healthy for my bank account.
My hope is that by giving up for a month I’ll lose a few pounds around my middle and gain a few pounds in the bank.
As well as weight loss there are very real health benefits of giving up drinking even for just a short period. According to a new report published by Alcohol Change examining alcohol harm across the drinking spectrum, even “low-risk” drinkers (i.e. people who drink about six pints or eight glasses of wine a week) reported reduced sleep quality, worse daily functioning and poorer dental health, compared with those who have never consumed alcohol.
A month off lowers blood pressure, reduces diabetes risk, lowers cholesterol and reduces levels of cancer-related proteins in the blood, according to research published in The BMJ in 2018.
The first week was the hardest. To break the habit of ordering a glass of wine, I declined invitations to after-work drinks, which I usually stay at until last orders, and prebooked evening exercise classes instead.
My three housemates in London – Hetty, Laura and Rose – are very sociable and love cocktails and wine, so there are lots of bottles on display and a wine rack in the house.
Luckily I don’t find them tempting when I’m at home, unless we’re having a dinner party. It’s glasses of wine at the pub and in restaurants that I find harder to avoid.
After three days, my face appeared less puffy, and my skin appeared more hydrated and dewy. According to Drinkaware, the dehydrating effect of alcohol means your skin loses fluid and nutrients.
“Alcohol causes fluid retention and inflammation, which makes the face swell. It also raises histamine in the body, which can add to redness and puffiness,” my GP, Dr Saloni Shah, explained to me when I attended a health assessment.
Crucially, the anxiety I experienced most mornings started to ease off within a week. I felt calmer and more collected. “A hangover doesn’t just cause poor function. It’s also associated with fluctuating moods,” explains professor David Nutt, a British neuropsychopharmacologist and global authority on the science of alcohol.
“Drinking leads to hyperexcitation and a rebound of the noradrenaline system. It activates the nervous system’s fight-or-flight response and puts the heart rate up. For some people, this causes extremely unpleasant ‘hangxiety’.”
Three days in, I felt able to take on more at work. I also felt more present with my partner, Jon, during the weekends we spend together in Sussex. It helps that he is a health-conscious non-drinker who loves cycling and surfing and never goes to the pub. I’m sure this challenge would be more difficult if our relationship were boozier.
We don’t bond over alcohol – instead we spend time outside in the countryside or by the sea with our friendship group. We’ve been together for five years, and we’ve drunk together only once on holiday abroad. I definitely put more effort into our relationship when I’m not going out for drinks all the time.
I usually see friends for dinner or drinks a few times a week. Although my social life dipped initially, as I avoided situations where I would be tempted to order alcohol, I noticed how much more productive and confident I felt at work.
“Inflammation in the brain caused by alcohol recovers more slowly than sleep patterns...It takes longer to notice increased clarity,” says Nutt. “After two weeks, it’s common to notice the impact on cognition. You’ll find your words faster.”
Rather than watching television when I got home, I had so much more energy that I spent one night making a photo album I’d been meaning to do for months. Two weeks in, I felt ready to join friends at the pub and order a non-alcoholic spritz instead of a wine, and found that I had a great time regardless.
The company matters more than what’s in the glass, a truth sometimes lost on me in my 20s. That said, I would pick a soothing sound bath at my local yoga studio, Cake and Yoga Club in Earlsfield, or an evening at the Clay Garden pottery studio in Twickenham over a rainy pub courtyard while sober.
“Alcohol changes your appetite hormones, disrupts metabolic balance and increases cravings for carbohydrates during and after drinking,” explains Nutt. “Women who are conscious of calories can experience a double whammy: starvation plus alcohol toxicity.”
I craved sugary treats for the first two weeks; less so the salty, stodgy foods, such as cheese toasties, that I often reach for at lunchtime the day after two or three (or sometimes five) glasses of wine.
I skipped fewer breakfasts, and my stomach is less bloated. “When you stop drinking, your stomach lining heals from the increased acid production caused by drinking,” says Nutt. In the past month, I’ve splurged less on expensive coffees and cut out takeaway curries completely. “Alcohol affects the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that handles decision-making, self-control and focus.
“It disrupts brain chemistry, leading to impaired judgment and willpower,” says Dr Shah. After just a week, I’d lost 2lb because my diet had changed so much.
The biggest immediate improvement was better sleep. I began to wake consistently at 6.30am, after routinely going to bed at 9.30pm.
“Alcohol shortens sleep and causes more frequent wakening. Your sleep cycle will return to normal after two or three days,” says Nutt. Extra time and energy to plan and prepare meals led to healthier choices; friends sent me recipes to try, such as broccoli and quinoa soup with turmeric and ginger.
Without alcohol, I love early mornings, so I went for my first bike ride of the year with Jon. I still have a long way to go to be able to keep up with him, but it’s a start.
I’ve always been someone who uses alcohol to calm my nerves at big events such as weddings or work dos. So I have to admit I nearly fell off the wagon at an industry awards ceremony. Networking without a glass of something as a crutch was much harder than I had expected.
For the rest of the month, I deliberately stayed away from friends who drink excessively and made non-alcohol-related plans instead.
At a christening celebration with Jon towards the end of October, I had far better conversations than I would have done if I’d been carried away topping up my champagne glass. “Getting past your initial social anxiety led to positive feedback for your brain without the need for alcohol,” Nutt explains.
By the end of the month, it becomes blindingly obvious that although I’ve spent years relying on alcohol to get me through social situations, it definitely exacerbates my anxious thoughts in the long run. It’s a false friend.
Nutt explains that this is because alcohol temporarily reduces uncomfortable thoughts and feelings by increasing the calming neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. Alcohol is so appealing “because it works”, says Nutt.
“To relax yourself, you have to enhance GABA - but alcohol leads to a rebound effect of increased anxiety as it wears off, disrupting the balance,” he explains. During my dry month, rather than beating myself up about the night before every Saturday morning and hiding under the duvet, I enjoyed going to Parkrun for a 9am start.
I started having leisurely hangover-free mornings and long dog walks on the beach with my mum and her Tibetan terrier, Saffi (who gives me so much more joy than a glass of wine ever will).
The idea of quitting forever still feels overwhelming, but as the month drew to an end, my attitude to drinking changed radically. I cancelled a big Hallowe’en night out for fear of being tempted and am far more aware of the impact of drinking on my health.
“Cutting back on drinking even for just a month will help reduce liver inflammation and fatty liver deposits,” says Nutt.
With that in mind I’m on a mission to continue to take control of my drinking habits, and I’m certainly not going to wait until Dry January to plan another 31-day break from booze.
Although I lost only half a kilo, my cholesterol and blood pressure number levels have dropped. Ultimately the thing I’m most happy about is the change in my outlook.
I will find it tricky to spend time with people who are drinking large amounts but I feel calmer, more confident and more able to go out and drink either nothing or much less.
Better still, I can use my no-wine savings to plan a trip to the Seychelles.