Make a plan outlining the details of your sober period, such as whether you’ll abstain entirely or be more moderate in your drinking in a specific way (for example, “I’ll only have one drink when I’m out on Friday nights”) and how long you want your break or your mindful drinking journey to be. Keeping a journal, or even notes in your phone’s note app, can help you reflect on what you discover along the way and track how you feel. Ever since his light-bulb moment, Shufelt has been dedicated to creating full-flavored, nonalcoholic beers. Over that short period of time, he has seen the market mature significantly to include what has been dubbed the “sober curious” crowd, especially among younger generations. Some 45 percent of 21+ Gen Z consumers have never consumed alcohol, Nielsen IQ found, compared with 36 percent of millennials and 32 percent of Gen X.
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One of these new entrants is Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, who at 28 is a millennial close to Gen Z age. People who register for the campaign also receive a daily email filled with “inspirational stories” as well as an explanation about what is happening to their bodies while off alcohol. marijuana addiction Dry January also has a Facebook page, where participants can post anonymously, which Piper said offers an extra level of support. Andrea McCarthy told friends and family when she gave up alcohol on January 1, 2024, that she would toast 12 months off the sauce with a drink to ring in 2025.
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- That apparent need to have a drink in one’s hand while socializing, and the lack of quality nonalcoholic options, is what inspired former hedge-fund worker Bill Shufelt in 2017 to co-found, with John Walker, Athletic Brewing Co., which has since grown to become America’s largest nonalcoholic beer producer.
- That study also found that resistance to insulin—a precursor to type 2 diabetes—came down 28 percent.
- “This beer isn’t just for those on a similar path, but for everyone who appreciates quality, craftsmanship and living life to the fullest.”
“I couldn’t find any bartenders to work in a sober bar. Now sober bartenders seek me out.” “America also has the biggest distinction of people who do a DIY version of trying to go dry on their own versus people joining the program,” Piper added. “There is nothing wrong with doing your own DIY version but it’s usually a much better experience and a much more successful experience doing the program as opposed to going it alone.”
- “At the beginning, if you asked me, I would have said, ‘At midnight, I’m having a shot at tequila to celebrate not having a drink for the entire year.’ But now that I’ve gotten to an entire year, I couldn’t think of anything worse than drinking,” McCarthy said.
- “I couldn’t find any bartenders to work in a sober bar. Now sober bartenders seek me out.”
- Anyone who has ever had one too many drinks likely has had a regrettable social moment.
- Aside from the obvious health benefits of abstaining from alcohol, taking a break from drinking can help you save money.
- Ever since his light-bulb moment, Shufelt has been dedicated to creating full-flavored, nonalcoholic beers.
- According to the research by The New Consumer/Coefficient, nearly a third of Americans plan to participate in some form of Dry January in 2025, either by cutting down or consuming zero alcohol for the month.
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Brown University Health, Rhode Island’s first health system, was founded in 1994 by Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital. “Sober people don’t want to navigate the city on that night,” Edge told Newsweek. “We have app users from https://ecosoberhouse.com/ the age of 18 up to 104, and we have a pretty good distribution across that age range that more or less matches the population, so there’s no age group that’s particularly using it more.” Connect your Spotify account to your Last.fm account and scrobble everything you listen to, from any Spotify app on any device or platform.
As that anniversary approached, the Los Angeles-born content creator told being sober sucks Newsweek she had had a change of heart. The impact that alcohol can have on the liver is well known, but even taking a brief pause can help improve your liver’s health. A researcher from the University College London found that after one Dry January, liver damage was reduced more than 12 percent. That study also found that resistance to insulin—a precursor to type 2 diabetes—came down 28 percent. According to the CDC, all forms of alcohol are linked to increased risks of certain cancers, including colorectal and breast cancers. A small study published in the British Journal of Medicine showed a remarkable reduction in cancer-related markers in participants who refrained from drinking alcohol for one month.
Yet there’s a strong social aspect to drinking that’s hard to ignore, especially among younger people. However, new research studies, along with a rise in “sober curious” influencers on social media, indicate that more and more people are considering the benefits of abstaining altogether, or more mindfully engaging in alcohol culture. For others, trying to take a break from alcohol may lead them to recognize that drinking has a stronger hold on their day-to-day life than they realized. Seeking help for alcohol addiction or any substance abuse disorder can feel challenging, but there are many resources to help you. Aside from the obvious health benefits of abstaining from alcohol, taking a break from drinking can help you save money.
- He pointed to statistics from the book Paying the Tab by economist Philip J. Cook, who found 80 percent of all alcohol in the U.S. is consumed by just 20 percent of the drinking-age population.
- One of the toughest things for McCarthy was navigating work or social events without a drink.
- “Now they understand what it is.” He said his bar attracts a largely professional crowd in their 30s to mid-40s, many of them women.
- However, new research studies, along with a rise in “sober curious” influencers on social media, indicate that more and more people are considering the benefits of abstaining altogether, or more mindfully engaging in alcohol culture.
- “U.S. citizens make up the second largest group of people using our program, which is fantastic,” said Dr. Richard Piper, CEO of Alcohol Change, the U.K.-based charity that created Dry January in 2013 and runs the campaign in the U.S. in partnership with Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee.
