Topline Dry January—where participants put down alcohol for a month—has commenced, and research shows the challenge comes with health benefits like improved sleep, weight loss, lowered blood pressure and more energy. Calendar marked to indicate that January is Dry January – a month to stay sober and alcohol-freegetty Key Facts Dry January is a popular trend started by advocacy group Alcohol Change U.K. where participants abstain from drinking alcohol for the entire month of January in hopes of reaping health benefits. Though it was started in the U.K., millions of Americans participate each year: 35% of American adults participated in the challenge in 2022 compared to 21% in 2019, according to data from international data and insight agency CGA Strategy. Excessive alcohol use comes with health risks like cancer, heart or liver disease, high blood pressure, miscarriage, depression, anxiety, alcohol dependence, stroke, or a weakened immune system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Regular drinkers who abstained from alcohol for 30 days saw an improvement in sleep and energy, and also lowered their cholesterol levels, blood pressure and cancer-causing proteins, according to a 2018 study published in BMJ Open. Around 90% of people who participated in Dry January in 2018 saved money, 71% had improved sleep, 58% lost weight, 54% saw an improvement in their skin and 67% had more energy, according to a 2019 study by the University of Sussex. Six months after they completed Dry January, participants on average drank one day less per week,… Click below to read the full story from Forbes
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