Seven Reasons to Try a Sober Spring in 2023
The global wellness economy is estimated to be worth $4 trillion.
You read that right – $4 trillion!
We are on an endless quest for vitality and youth. Yet many of us drink alcohol, a known toxin.
We start drinking at college just to fit in, then we find ourselves at work entertaining clients or just letting our hair down with colleagues on a Friday night as part of the “work hard play hard” culture.
As we get older, we switch to using a glass (or two) or wine in the evening to relax or to relieve stress. The evolution from “socialising” to “self-medicating” is complete.
Seven Reasons to Take a Break
Here’s the thing:
Alcohol is a toxin, and we owe it to our amazing bodies and brains to take a break now and then. To boost our general health and check our dependence – especially as we get older. Below is a list of seven valid reasons to take a 66-day break from drinking alcohol.
To Check Your Dependence
Alcohol is a drug, and we need to take regular breaks to ensure that we are not becoming dependent. 20% of social drinkers will become dependent over the years. Alcohol is insidious and sneaks up on us which is why an annual “dependence check” makes so much sense.
It’s Long Enough to Get Real Benefits
Most of us have white-knuckled our way through Dry January but 30 days is just not long enough to experience the benefits of sobriety. In my experience, 66 days of sobriety will boost your health, improve your looks and give you a glimpse of just how awesome alcohol-free living can be!
To Lose Weight!
66 alcohol-free days will certainly have an impact on your waistline. Of course, wine is full of sugar, and it also leads to unhealthy snacking. Even more important to know is that because alcohol is a toxin your body will focus on metabolising it first, before it turns to burning those calories in your food.
Improving Your Looks!
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. Ditching alcohol is the best beauty treatment of all – who knew!?
No More Peer Pressure
“Alcohol is the only drug we have to justify not taking” – harsh but true. If you tell your family and friends that you have given up drinking they may well ask you why on earth would you do such a crazy thing. Whereas, if you them you are doing a 66-day alcohol-free challenge as a health kick, they will probably leave you in peace.
Improve the Quality of Your Sleep
To feel rested we need seven cycles of REM sleep. Drinkers usually get two at most. The resulting fatigue builds up over the years, especially if you drink a glass (or two) of wine every evening. Ditch the drink for 66 days, and you will sleep like a baby and begin to feel fabulous.
Strengthen Your Immune System
Alcohol is a toxin and our immune system will fire up to protect us from it. Our immune system gets weaker as we age, and we need it to remain focussed on its job, which it to protect us from disease. Taking a break from booze will reduce your blood pressure, bring down your cholesterol levels and boost your general health.
It Could Change Your Life!
After 66 alcohol free days, you will experience the “Domino Effect.” Your mind will clear and your energy and motivation will come flooding back. You may well start reviewing and changing other parts of your life – your eating plan, your exercise program, your career and even your relationships.
Why 66 Days?
66 days give enough time to change a habit and build a new neural pathway. If you are thinking about making alcohol-free living a permanent lifestyle then you will find it SO much easier after 66 days.
Even if you are just looking to cut down, then take a 66-day break and you will find it much easier to drink within the low-risk levels of one bottle of wine a week.
Need Some Support?
If you’d like a bit of support to get through the 66 days then join the Tribe Sober #Sober66 Challenge and get online, community and audio support for 66 days from the day you sign up. The Challenge begins on the 20th March so sign up today!
Let’s Have a Conversation:
What habits have you adopted to help you lead a healthier lifestyle? Do you take regular breaks from alcohol? Did you find support in friends and family?
Tags Healthy Aging
I love to see you encourage folks to do the 66 days. It is such a big help to get past the first 30 days and add some craving free days to see the benefits from our brains clearing out! I am a “newish” member of Tribe Sober and the bootcamp was a fantastic start! I am so thankful to have received such loving and kind advice from Tribe Sober. Joining this group is the best thing I have ever done for myself. Such a nonjudmental and informative group that truly understands we need to find our own way. It is a personal journey and our goals are all different. I do want to add I have so enjoyed your podcasts, with such variety and the skillful way you do a review of the material at the end.
thank you so much for your kind words Ellen – we do our Free Bootcamps four times a year, just to give people a taste of what support we offer so I’m delighted that you got so much out of it. We are thrilled to have you in our Tribe and proud of your success!
Love this program. Not judging nor shaming. Supportive, kind, and caring group.
Thank you Jill – we would never judge or shame anyone as we’ve all been through the struggle outselves
I joined Tribe Sober, at a very low point in my life and just after my 70th birthday. After decades of trying unsuccessfully to moderate my wine intake, I signed up for the Sober Spring Challenge….. That was in 2021, today I have clocked up over 500 alcohol free days and heading towards my second soberversary and I can personally vouch for all the above mentioned benefits. The freedom that being alcohol free has brought has my life and with the continued support of this amazing Tribe (and our leader Janet) I am living my best life.
You and I are both examples of how its never too late to get sober Ros! I strongly believe that ditching the booze is one of the best things we can do for our health, happiness (and looks!) as we get older.