Dry January

For the month of January, Dan and I abstained from all alcoholic beverages. No beer. No cocktails. Nothing! Granted Dan had a beer or two at work events... but I would consider those instances to be outliers that do not impact the overall dry January experience. I just wanted to share our findings on what cutting out alcohol has done for us.

Nicole with a Big Tree because I don't have many relevant Dry January photos

I would say that before we stopped drinking, Dan and I were averaging 4 - 10 beers a week. Sometimes drinking wine or a cocktail. The number of drinks really fluctuated and depended on if we went to breweries or hung out with friends. But I have never considered myself to be a heavy drinker and would say that even on a night we went out I would have a beer or two... and stop there. However, I have also never really thought about how my casual drinking was impacting my mental and physical health. So when Julianne said she was committing to a dry January I was really interested. 

Before we started, I had a couple predictions. First, I thought that not drinking would most likely make me feel better physically. Second, Dan and I would probably end up saving money since we wouldn't be going to breweries or get drinks when we went out to eat (those costs really add up!). And third, although I knew I could complete a month with no drinking, I did think it would be harder to adhere to in social settings.

There was only one way to find out if my hypotheses were accurate - not drink for a month and reflect on the results.

Our Findings

Even though Dan had a few beers in January, we had very similar results.

1. Emotional Stabilization
About 1 week into Dry January, I would say I was feeling my emotions very acutely. I was homesick, stressed about my job search, getting over a cold, and just kind of sad. And because no drinking was being had, which was a default way to "relax", I just had to feel all the feels. And the longer we didn't drink, the easier it was to recognize and manage stress in more constructive ways. Dan and I both agree that by week 3 we both felt calmer and less irritable. This could have been for many reasons - a big one being that we slept so much better!!!

2. Sleep!
Dan had the most drastic shift to his sleep pattern. He used to be restless at night - waking up at odd hours, tossing and turning. I have heard him say too many times that he "slept like garbage". Cutting out alcohol rapidly improved this. It was shocking! Personally, I did not think much changed but I will say I did feel more hydrated and better able to get going in the morning.

3. Bloating
This was one of the biggest changes I noticed, and I haven't looked into the science but it felt like I was retaining a lot less water. My clothes fit better and I was much more comfortable.

4. Expanding Beveridge Horizons

A very PNW meal of Salmon, green beans, potatoes, and Tosh

We starting drinking tea more frequently, juices, mocktails, and anything else that didn't have alcohol. It was actually really fun to explore those aisles of the grocery store. I would say a favorite was a brand called Tosh, which unfortunately disappeared once February rolled around. I never noticed the widespread Dry January participation - but I think that's why more interesting nonalcoholic drinks were available at the time.

There are probably more things that I could add - but I have forgotten them at this point! All in all, I would definitely do this again and it was an excellent way to instill a loose "no drinking on weekdays" rule for the house. We both are really better off!

Love you all,
Nicole