The Power of 66… Alcohol Free Days
The global wellness economy is estimated to be worth $4 trillion dollars!
We are on an endless and expensive quest for wellness, vitality and youth… yet we drink the toxin ethanol on a daily basis.
We do the yoga, the juicing, the healthy eating and the exercise but at some point, we may need to come face to face with our wine habit, which may be sabotaging all our hard work.
A break from booze will have a positive impact on your looks. You will lose that puffiness in your face, your skin will clear and your eyes will sparkle. The average US woman spends $300 a month on beauty treatments but ditching alcohol is the best beauty treatment of all – and it’s free!
Depression and anxiety meds count for 10% of all prescriptions in the US yet we know that alcohol is a depressant and as for anxiety….
Drinking alcohol is like pouring gasoline on our anxiety!
Let’s face it, alcohol is a toxin, and we owe it to our amazing bodies and brains to take a break now and then.
Could You Take a Break from Alcohol for 66 Days?
Alcohol is insidious, it creeps up on us, and in fact, 20% of social drinkers will become dependent over the years. That’s why an annual dependence check is so important. If you find 66 days without alcohol a breeze then that’s great – no problem, nothing to see here!
However, if you can’t get through 66 alcohol free days or if the very thought of giving up your nightly glass (or two) of wine sends a little shiver down your spine then that’s a sure sign that you need to take a break.
Why 66 Days?
66 days is long enough to change a habit and build a new neural pathway according to research by Dr. Philippa Lally from University College London.
So, if you do want to try out the alcohol free, lifestyle then you will find it SO much easier after 66 days.
Even if you are just sober curious or looking to cut down a bit, the 66-day break will be beneficial. At the end of the challenge, you will find it SO much easier to drink within the low-risk levels of one and a half bottles of wine (or six beers) a week.
10 Quick Reasons Why Taking a 66-Day Break Could Be a Gamechanger
- The first 30 days of any alcohol-free challenge are usually the most difficult ones. Hang in there, and it gets easier and easier.
- You will have a great reason for not drinking: “No thanks, I’m doing a 66-day Challenge.”
- Your mind will clear, and your creativity will get a boost. Most importantly, you may just decide that you love living alcohol free!
- After 66 alcohol free days you will have built a new sober “neural pathway,” making it much easier to carry on if you wish.
- You will make healthier food choices, feel more like exercising and ditch those extra kilos. Drinking alcohol just doesn’t fit the wellness trend.
- The benefits that come in after 2+ alcohol-free months are significant – weight loss, better sleep, clearer skin and fresher looks for a start.
- Alcohol is an addictive drug, and 20% of social drinkers will become dependent over the years. Regular breaks to test your dependence are essential.
- More and more people are becoming sober curious – why not join them and dip your toe in the cool waters of sobriety? You might just decide to stay!
- Your sleep will improve. When we drink, we get only 2 or 3 cycles of REM sleep. To feel rested and refreshed we need 7! No more 3 a.m. wake-ups feeling anxious.
- More time! We are all “too busy” these days so ditching the booze will free up extra time. You’ll have more energy in the evening and start to love early mornings! Just substitute your evening wine(s) with a delicious alcohol-free drink.
Health Reasons to Take a Break from the Booze
As we get older, we have to prioritise our health and alcohol is best avoided after 60.
If you’ve been drinking heavily for years then you may be wondering if taking a break from alcohol is even worth it – will it make any difference?
Well, the answer is a big fat yes!
The human body is amazing, and your health will improve as a result of ditching the drink – even for 66 days. Better hydration and improved sleep will increase your productivity and daily wellbeing. Your liver, stomach, and skin will also benefit from not having to deal with the daily onslaught of ethanol.
Let’s break those health benefits down:
Sleep
Sleep is the foundation of good health. Although we may feel that alcohol helps us to fall asleep, in fact it is preventing us from getting the deep restorative sleep that we need. As the alcohol leaves our body (usually about 2 – 3 a.m.) we will wake up, often feeling anxious and dehydrated. An alcohol-free month will give our bodies a chance to get some proper rest.
Liver
The liver is an amazing organ and does in fact recover very quickly. Staff at the British magazine New Scientist had medical tests before and after Dry January and found that liver fat had dropped between 15 – 20%. Liver fat is a precursor to liver damage. Tests on liver stiffness also yielded similar results.
Cancer
Alcohol is now linked to 7 different types of cancer. The risk increases the more you drink. Just 3 drinks a week raises your breast cancer risk by 15%. Drinking more than one and a half bottles of wine a week puts your health at risk so use this alcohol-free month to “reset” before drinking again within “safe” guidelines.
Blood Pressure
Drinking too much alcohol can cause your blood pressure to rise over time. After 3 – 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 such as stroke and heart disease.
Gut Health
Alcohol can lead to a leaky gut, and can interfere with how the immune system functions, leading to increased inflammation within the gut and elsewhere in the body. When we consume alcohol our immune system will fight it, as it would fight a disease. Covid taught us that we need to keep our immune system strong and focussed on protecting us from disease.
Hydration
When you drink alcohol, you lose around four times as much liquid as you actually drank. Therefore, giving up alcohol can help you keep well hydrated, which is in turn beneficial for your brain. Your mood and concentration will be more stable, you will have more energy and motivation – what’s not to like!
Weight
Quite apart from the calories in each drink, alcohol is a major driver of overeating. We all know how alcohol weakens our healthy eating resolutions. Suddenly those nibbles at a cocktail party look irresistible. In a recent study people having two alcoholic drinks with food consumed 30% more food than those drinking water.
Mental Health
Alcohol is a depressant and although it will give you a brief chemical high it will leave you feeling down the next day. We often drink alcohol to alleviate anxiety and depression but in fact, it will have the opposite effect.
66 days off alcohol will give you a taste of the benefits of quitting alcohol forever. It will kickstart your health, freshen up your looks, and give you a new sense of energy and purpose. Most importantly you will have tested your dependency on alcohol – if it was a breeze then well done!
If it was really hard or if you just couldn’t do it, then you need to consider your relationship with alcohol and make some changes. Tribe Sober can help.
If you’d like a bit of support to get through the 66 days then sign up for the Tribe Sober #Sober66 Challenge and get online, community and audio support for 66 days from the day you sign up. Opens 1st September.
Listen to the latest Tribe Sober podcast here.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
Do you take regular breaks from alcohol to improve your health and test your dependence? Does the thought of going 66 days without alcohol make you anxious? Were you aware that the low risk guideline was just a bottle and a half of wine a week? Do you often do Dry January but find yourself “white knuckling” it and longing for February?
Tags Healthy Aging
You forgot to mention the cardiac effects of drinking and the link to atrial fibrillation. I’ve experienced various arrhythmias over the years, beginning in my 20’s. I’ve always enjoyed the daily glass of Chardonnay, but found it less fun the older I got to the point where it was just making me sleepy. My last drink was when I turned 69. I just turned 70 and haven’t noticed any arrythmias in over a year. Coincidence?
thank you so much for highlighting this Donna – you’re right I should have mentioned it because in fact every additional standard alcoholic drink per day increases the risk of incident atrial fabrillation by 8%! well done on ditching the booze at 69 – there are so many health benefits – I hope you saw this article https://staging.sixtyandme.com/ditch-the-booze/ best wishes Janet
Really glad to read this article reminding me of all the benefits the 66 day challenge will bring. My first Sober January alcohol break was an eye opener on how great I felt, really didn’t miss it after a couple days, and until then had not connected the dots with how my anxiety was so much worse the days after drinking. I had a “tribe” because the local newspaper was doing a sober series and a FB group with everyone encouraging one another and excellent facts about sober health all month. I encourage anyone doing this join the Sep 1 Tribe Sober. Good luck and have fun, you won’t be disappointed in the results!!
Hi Julie so many of us drink to alleviate our anxiety when it’s the worst thing we could do! drinking alcohol is like pouring gasoline on our anxiety as you discovered in January… the fact that you didn’t even miss it after a couple of days is great thanks for encouraging people to join our 66 day challenge – it really is easier with a tribe! best wishes Janet