The decision to give up alcohol is a personal one, and even a temporary break can lead to improvements in health and wellbeing. This article explores the timeline of changes that occur when you stop drinking, the benefits of abstaining from alcohol, and tips for reducing alcohol consumption.
What Happens When You Stop Drinking? A Timeline
When you stop drinking, your body goes through a series of changes. The alcohol withdrawal timeline below gives the potential symptoms and experiences that someone who's dependent on alcohol might go through when they stop drinking. Everyone's body will respond differently to giving up alcohol, and this timeline should only be used as a guide to establish what might happen to your body when you stop drinking.
Up to 24 Hours After You Stop Drinking
Withdrawal symptoms are likely to begin within the first 24 hours of stopping drinking. Depending on the person and how often they have been drinking, withdrawal might start from as little as 2 hours after their last drink. If you were to drink alcohol every night, the withdrawal symptoms may be more severe than someone who only drinks on weekends. Early symptoms will be mild. They may include anxiety, hand tremors and shakes, sweating and headaches. As time goes on, alcohol cravings will grow, and a feeling of fatigue and depression could begin.
12 to 72 Hours After You Stop Drinking
For some people, more serious withdrawal symptoms will begin after 12 to 24 hours. In rare, more severe cases, you might develop delirium tremens (DTs). Symptoms could include seizures, hallucinations, and a significant increase in heart rate and blood pressure. This is a dangerous period for anyone who's stopped drinking and is experiencing withdrawal.
48 to 72 Hours After You Stop Drinking
For the majority of people, the symptoms of withdrawal will begin to subside at this point, allowing you to function more normally and manage your symptoms. Symptoms of DTs may continue for some, with a feeling of disorientation and delusions alongside other severe withdrawal symptoms like heavy sweating and high blood pressure.
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Between 3 and 7 Days After You Stop Drinking
After a few days of giving up drinking, most people can expect their symptoms to stop. For the more severely affected, DTs and severe withdrawal symptoms may continue. For these people, medical supervision is recommended when giving up alcohol.
Week 1 of Giving Up Alcohol
After 1 week away from alcohol, you may notice that you're sleeping better. When you drink, you typically fall straight into a deep sleep, missing the important rapid eye movement (REM) phase of sleep. While you're supposed to have between six and seven cycles of REM sleep a night, you typically only have one or two when you’ve been drinking. There are many benefits of better sleep. You will be more productive and will be able to learn and problem solve better. Your ability to control your emotions and behavior will also improve. You’ll also have more opportunity to manage your food and drink intake. Sleep helps to balance the hormones that make you feel hungry or full. After drinking, your ghrelin levels (the hormone that makes you feel hungry) go up, and leptin (the hormone that makes you feel full) go down.
When you drink alcohol, you lose around four times as much liquid as what you actually drank. Dehydration can cause headaches, as your organs take water from the brain due to their own water loss. Salt and potassium levels also reduce, which can impact nerve and muscle function, while also causing headaches, fatigue and nausea. Therefore, giving up alcohol can help you keep well hydrated, which is beneficial for your brain. Your mood and concentration will be more stable, and the frequency of headaches is likely to decrease. You also won’t suffer from the effects of dehydration such as lack of motivation and increased fatigue, so will have more energy throughout the day.
If you were to give up drinking six 175 ml glasses of wine a week, you would save around 960 calories, which is the equivalent to three burgers or five and a half bags of crisps. And if you were to stop consuming six pints of average strength lager a week, you would save 1,080 calories, which is similar to six bags of crisps or five chocolate bars.
Week 2 of Giving Up Alcohol
After 2 weeks off alcohol, you'll continue to reap the benefits of better sleep and hydration. As alcohol is an irritant to the stomach lining, after a fortnight, you'll also see a reduction in symptoms such as reflux where the stomach acid burns your throat. After a fortnight, you're also likely to start losing weight as a result of giving up alcohol’s empty calories. If you were to stop drinking six 175ml glasses of wine per week, you would have saved 1,920 calories at this point, and 2,160 if you’d stopped drinking around six pints of lager.
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Week 3 of Giving Up Alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol can cause your blood pressure to rise over time. After 3 to 4 weeks of not drinking, your blood pressure will start to reduce. Reducing your blood pressure can be crucial as it can help to lessen the risk of health problems occurring in the future. As the calories in alcohol can cause you to gain weight, giving up alcohol can also help you to reduce your blood pressure as a result of the weight you can potentially lose. By this point, if you’d previously been drinking six 175ml glasses of wine a week, you would have lost 2,880 calories over 3 weeks. And if you’d been drinking six pints of lager a week, you would have lost 3,240 calories.
Week 4 of Giving Up Alcohol
Giving up alcohol will have a positive impact on your skin due to you having better levels of hydration. As more water will have been absorbed rather than wasted, you're likely to have more hydrated-looking skin, as well as reduced dandruff and eczema. Removing alcohol from your diet for 4 weeks can also help to improve your liver function as your liver will start to shed excess fat. If your liver function is not too badly affected by alcohol, it can recover within 4 to 8 weeks. With the liver playing a part in over 500 vital processes, you also give your body a better chance of removing contaminants, converting food nutrients, and storing minerals and vitamins.
2 - 6 Months: Your Body Will Heal
During these months, your body will go through many stages of healing. Some organs and body systems take a couple of months to fully heal from alcohol injury.
The longer you abstain from alcohol, the more your body and brain will heal and the better you will start to feel. After a couple of months of not drinking, you will notice that you are losing weight. Alcohol is “empty calories,” meaning that it is full of calories without any nutritional value. When you refrain from drinking after a couple of months, you will notice that you are naturally losing weight. Your diet will most likely improve because you are now eating food instead of consuming empty calories. This is where you have great potential to learn how to maintain a healthy diet by learning how to eat whole foods and cook nutritious meals. You may want to reach out to a nutritionist or dietician to help coach you through how to plan your meals and nourish your body so you can maintain your desired weight and feel strong. Without alcohol in your system and with proper nutritional nourishment, you will notice that you have more energy and a desire to do things. You may even want to start exercising and become more social because of this increased energy.
The liver is greatly affected by alcohol because it is responsible for breaking down toxins in the body, and alcohol is a toxin. The liver also plays a role in blood clotting, fighting inflammation, vitamin production, and insulin levels. Alcohol consumption can lead to fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer in that order. Fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and fibrosis and other long-term effects can be reversible when alcohol use is completely stopped, but unfortunately, cirrhosis and liver cancer cannot be reversed. Liver function begins to improve after a couple of weeks after quitting alcohol, but after a couple of months, you may feel the differences in your body. Depending on your drinking history, the liver usually takes up to 6 months (or even more) to return to normal function. As your liver function begins to improve, you will have an increase in energy, improved triglyceride and cholesterol levels, improved nutrition because your liver is producing vitamins again, less yellowing of the skin and eyes, and better healing and inflammatory processes. The liver will also return to its normal healthy size. If you have any blood clotting issues, they may improve as the liver is responsible for your blood’s clotting pathways and functions.
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The lining of the GI tract begins to recover within the first month of abstaining from alcohol, but GI ulcers, especially ones that bleed, often take a few months to heal once drinking is stopped.
You will start to notice an improvement in memory and concentration about one month after you stop drinking, and your mental clarity will greatly improve as time goes on. Your decision-making process will be clearer, you will be a better problem solver, you will be able to multitask, and your overall mental state will improve. Alcohol is known to cause “brain fog,” which can impair memory, concentration, and decision-making due to the imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain. After a couple of months of no alcohol, the brain and the neurotransmitters begin to regain balance, and you will notice that your thoughts become clearer.
Alcohol and depression often co-occur together because alcohol can trigger depression due to its effect on serotonin levels, and depression can trigger alcohol use disorder. After refraining from alcohol, the levels of serotonin in the brain begin to stabilize, and your mood becomes more stable. This can mean you have a decrease in depression, fewer angry outbursts, a reduction in mood swings, less anxiety, and overall feel more stable and happy.
Over time, abstaining from alcohol is shown to reduce blood pressure, meaning a decreased risk of clogged blood vessels and heart disease.
Alcohol is linked to many types of cancers, affecting nearly every organ. After about 4 months of abstaining from alcohol, your cancer risk drastically decreases. This risk reduces even more the longer you abstain from alcohol.
You may notice that you are getting sick less, and your scratches, scrapes, and bruises are healing faster. Alcohol alters your immune functions when it damages your liver, so after a few months of no drinking, your immune system starts to become stronger.
After a few months without alcohol, your blood sugar, insulin, and HbA1c levels will stabilize. If you have diabetes or are at risk for diabetes, this is especially important. The longer you abstain from drinking, the better your blood sugar control will be, and you’ll experience fewer complications associated with diabetes.
7 - 9 Months: New Routines Are Put Into Place
After you stop drinking for 6 months, your body and mind have returned to healthy states, and you may notice that you are ready to make life changes. You feel better mentally and physically and will most likely have new, healthy routines, including: You may have joined a new workout class, support group, or sober community and are finally settling into this new lifestyle. You will find that although the urges and cravings may still appear, you have healthy coping skills you can use to overcome these cravings. You most likely have found an amazing treatment team that you love and attend support groups and outpatient therapy. After about 6 months, you may finally feel that your new lifestyle is your new normal, and you are more comfortable engaging in sober activities and telling people you do not drink. You have learned to distance yourself from unhealthy people and triggers, and maybe you have moved into a new home or are working on regaining the trust of your loved ones who you have hurt while you were drinking. This is the stage where your life is transitioning into a new journey without alcohol. You may also notice that abstaining from alcohol means that you are spending less money. After cutting out alcohol and getting your physical and mental health back on track, you may now realize the financial benefits of not drinking after saving money on bar tabs and alcohol purchases.
10 - 12 Months: Completing Your First Year Of Sobriety
After nearly completing a year of no drinking, you will notice that your overall happiness level has improved because your physical and mental states are healthier, and other aspects of your life have transformed. This could mean: If you are part of a sober community or support group, you may be close to receiving your one-year chip for sobriety, meaning you have almost completed one year of treatment. This is a massive milestone, as each month of no drinking is a milestone in itself, and reaching the one-year mark is extra special. You may feel strong enough in your sobriety that you went back to school, finished your degree, started a new job, or made an advancement in your career. In other words, your life is ready to take off to the next level. You may even want to mentor others in the early stages of their addiction recovery. In these later months, you start to accomplish life goals and are on track to help others if you desire.
Benefits of Not Drinking Alcohol
Giving up drinking has a wide range of great benefits to our physical and mental health. Here’s an extensive list of the benefits of not drinking in the long-term:
- Improved Sleep Quality: The two most important cycles of sleep - REM and slow wave sleep - will be less disrupted, leaving you feeling brighter and more alert each morning
- Improved Mood and Concentration: This stems from having more energy and less fatigue, helping you be more productive at work or at home
- Better Hydration: Leading to a whole host of benefits. Headaches and having a dry mouth will decrease, skin will feel more radiant, and dark circles around your eyes will lessen
- Improved Memory: Alcohol is proven to hinder the part of your brain that deals with memory (the hippocampus)
- Weight Loss: Alcohol slows your metabolism, making it harder for your body to process fats and sugar. Alcohol also has a high calorie count (approximately 160 calories for a medium glass of red wine, 210 or more in a pint of beer) and many of the mixers we enjoy with spirits, like vodka or gin, are high in sugar. You’ll also be less likely to have late night, fast food binges than you would after you’ve been drinking alcohol
- Improved Stomach Health: Symptoms such as indigestion and acid reflux can be caused by alcohol irritating your digestive system. You’ll also be better able to absorb nutrients and store vitamins and minerals
- Improved Skin Health: Alcohol can cause red and blotchy or puffy skin. Alcohol-free skin is better hydrated, removing these problems and reducing dry patches that can inflame conditions like eczema
- Reduced Blood Pressure: High blood pressure is linked to alcohol consumption, and this is known to be one of the main causes of heart disease
- Healthier Liver: Over time, your liver fat levels will reduce. Good liver health also contributes to the quality of our skin
- Decreased Risk of Heart Disease: For anyone concerned about heart health, decreasing alcohol intake and increasing physical activity, which also raises good cholesterol, are recommended.
- Reduced Cancer Risk: Alcohol consumption has been linked to multiple cancers, including head and neck, esophageal, liver, breast, and colorectal.
- Boosted Brain Power: Teenage and college drinking can cause memory loss and interference with brain development.
- Financial Savings: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2019 the average household spent $579 per year on alcohol, which is around 1% of their annual income. If you add in costs of drinking in social settings at restaurants, bars, and clubs, the amount might be more. Plus, add in things like paying for transportation to avoid driving under the influence and now you might be forking out even more.
Tips for Reducing Alcohol Consumption
If you are drinking more than you would like, you are not alone. Lots of people find it hard to cut back. But every small step you take brings you closer to your goals, and the right support can make it easier.
- Use the NHS Drink Free Days app to set yourself a weekly unit target and stick to it.
- Choose drinks that are lower in alcohol. Try lighter beers - under 4% ABV. As a rule of thumb, white and rosé wines are lower in strength than reds.
- It might take a bit of time to get used to the change from your usual choices, so if you notice a difference in taste with lower-strength drinks, do not give up!
- Going for drinks is not the only way to see friends.
- Sticking to a budgeted amount for alcohol can be a good way to drink less.
- Being involved in rounds makes it easy to end up drinking more than you meant. Try to avoid them if you can, and do not feel like you have to say yes to a drink just because someone else is buying.
- If a drink is a way you handle boredom or stress, try finding something else to do instead.
How Much Alcohol is Safe to Consume?
It's recommended to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, spread across 3 days or more. That's around 6 medium (175ml) glasses of wine, or 6 pints of 4% beer. There's no completely safe level of drinking, but sticking within these guidelines lowers your risk of harming your health. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, alcohol should be consumed in moderation - up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.
Will I Experience Withdrawal Symptoms If I Stop Drinking?
According to American Family Physician, about half of people who have alcohol use disorder (uncontrolled drinking and preoccupation with alcohol) who suddenly stop or cut back on alcohol consumption will develop signs or symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Symptoms can range from headache, elevated blood pressure, heart palpitations, and nausea and vomiting to tremors, hallucination and in severe cases death. Get medical advice before you stop drinking alcohol if you have physical withdrawal symptoms (like shaking, sweating or feeling anxious until you have your first drink of the day). It can be dangerous to stop drinking too quickly without proper help. There's lots of support out there. Take care of your mind Your mental health is just as important as your physical health.