Dry January

Now the partying of Christmas and New Year’s Eve is over, it’s time for Dry January.

Why do Dry January?

Every year, millions of people give up alcohol for the whole month of January, not touching a drop until February 1st.

Giving up alcohol for a month isn’t just good news for your liver. During last year’s Dry January, 88% of people said they saved money, 71% said they slept better, and 58% lost weight. If you worry you might be drinking too much alcohol, Dry January is a great way to get your year off to a good start and ditch the booze for 31 days.

What happens when January is over?

Once the month comes to an end, you’ll hopefully have seen how easy it is to turn down a drink, and you’ll have experienced the benefits first hand. Taking a month off alcohol is a great step towards looking after your health, but cutting down on your drinking long term will have lifelong benefits. Alcohol is linked to over 60 health conditions, including seven types of cancer. Drinking less reduces your risk.

Think in units

The UK's Chief Medical Officers recommend you drink no more than 14 units across a week, but it can be hard to figure out, or remember, how many units are in a drink. The units in your drink vary depending on the strength of the alcohol, shown as a % or ABV (alcohol by volume). A 250ml glass of 14% ABV wine has 0.7 more units than a 11% glass of wine the same size.

When you drink at home, it's easy to pour yourself larger drinks than you'd get in a restaurant or bar. To help manage how much you drink, try using smaller glasses, and measure spirits instead of free pouring them.

Alcohol Change has more information about how many units are in your drink.