Ah January. You’re the most trying month of the year. As we try to get back into a normal routine after the chaos of December, you try our patience, with your short days, cold and wet weather and general dreariness. If you’ve also decided to quit alcohol for the month, your go-to glass of wine at the end of a long January week is even no longer there to help.

But if you are doing Dry January, then well done! The benefits of cutting down on alcohol are plentiful. For a start, as we all know, drinking alcohol really does help to up the daily calorie count. Even opting for lower calorie drinks such as prosecco or a vodka and slimline tonic, still means you’re consuming extra calories. And if we’re being mindful of our calorie intake, then they’re probably extras we could be doing without, especially after the excess of Christmas!

Potential weight loss aside, people that have done Dry January before regularly report better, more regular and deeper sleep by the end of the first week. The benefits of this are profound. Better sleep equals better concentration, improved mood, increased productivity and better decision making.

Not only that, by week two, physically, we’re more energised, meaning we have more enthusiasm for exercise. Many people have also reported feeling generally healthier, more hydrated and having brighter skin. Not only does going dry mean you cut out the extra calories in terms of alcohol, you’re also less likely to reach for the salty, high fat ‘wine snacks’ or the greasy, carb loaded hangover foods after a big night! 

Medically you’re better off too, as by the third week, your liver would’ve had a good rest meaning that it’s better able to do its job of detoxing the blood, and you may have even had a drop in blood pressure.

If putting things into numbers helps, if you drink a bottle and a half of wine each week, by the end of January, you would’ve avoided almost 4,000 calories!

Plus, ditching the alcohol is a perfect time to discover how lovely mocktails and no alcohol drinks now are. Gone are the days of insipid or stupidly sweet no alcohol wines and beers. These options now taste much more like the real thing and you may even find yourself choosing these over your usual Pinot Grigio well past January 31^st.

Mocktails are also popping up on bar and restaurant menus everywhere now, and they don’t have to be sugar laden, super sweet affairs. Or you could make your own. Try our recipe for our no alcohol Pink Champagne and see how tasty things can still be!

Newly discovered botanicals have also meant that even our love for gin is catered for when we’re avoiding the real thing. Botanical drinks that are alcohol free and can be mixed with tonics make for a refreshing drink with all the flavour, minus the calories and the hangover.

And we’ll raise a sparkling water to that!