In the final start before drying out of January, leaving the US General Viveka, he announced a link between alcohol consumption and seven types of cancer at the beginning of the year. Although Congress can never act on its recommendation on the addition of new warning inscriptions on the bottles, the message is landed at a time when Americans’ opinions about alcohol are already changing.
The Gallup poll in 2024 showed that 65% of adults between 18 and 34 said that alcohol consumption was poor for your health, an increase of 35 points since 2001. Current American dietary recommendations believe that women are limited to one drink per day, and men for two, and US centers for the control and prevention of the disease warn that the use of the use can more can lead to liver and heart disease; The World Health Organization even said: “There is no safe level of alcohol consumption.” And for many people, alcohol remains a serious problem. Almost 29 million people in the United States reported alcohol consumption over the past year, reports a 2023 national poll on drug use and health.
No wonder the “sober curious” movement is of interest. An increasing number of young Americans participated in dry January 2025, abstaining or reducing their drinking to find out whether they could experience benefits such as improving sleep quality and increased energy levels. Even for those who did not remain sober throughout the month, the study showed that the dryer in January often means a decrease in alcohol consumption in the following months. The study of 2024 showed that half of 18 to 29-year-old children involved in the call of abstinence reported a decrease in the following alcohol consumption; 15% said to quit drinking completely.
While the monthly challenge, like a dry January, provides a healthy beginning of the year, keeping this momentum can be scary, given the ubiquity of alcohol in modern life at after work, happy hours, weddings, sports games and social events. If you did it until January and want to stay dry or just drink a little less going forward, here’s a modest guide to a more sober lifestyle.
Creating a sober habit – a sequence
Traditional addiction treatment programs cannot be right for sober curious. Judson Brewer, Professor and Director of Research and Innovation of the Brown University Center, recommends another approach.
Change how you think about alcohol three key ways, Brauer said. For the first time, approach how your drinking adversely affects you, whether it is associated with physical symptoms or in the dynamics of your relationship. Next, think what causes your desire to drink, for example, feel uncomfortable with social conditions or the desire to relax. Finally, find something else that is nice that you can do, for example, order a non -alcoholic beverage at the bar while walking after work or savoring another indulgence.
Repeat-the true key to success, said Wendy Wood, Professor of the University of Southern California and author of the book that changes in behavior, good habits, bad habits; Resistant calls also require determination, desire and mental energy, added Robert Shlah, Associate Professor of the Department of Psychology at the University of Southern Florida. Shlauh said the motivation could arise from -attention in future positive scenarios, such as how much money you save and how much more sharp you will feel at work. According to one study of 2022, people with alcohol consumption, which imagined positive future events, drink about two drinks less than a control group. In another study, a group of college students who were asked to think about their future academic goals also stopped consuming alcohol.
Authenticity without alcohol should not feel awkward
Socialization without alcohol may seem terrible for recently sober, especially in the settings where you traditionally drink, for example, to meet with friends at the bar.
For sober people who feel different from other people who can make sobriety complex. People are social beings who are “afraid of opinion from others,” Brauer said, and this fear can lead to trouble. According to Slauha, the experience of negative emotions, including anxiety or sadness, can increase after someone stops drinking because some of their identity changes.
A non -alcoholic beverage order can go a long way to make you feel comfortable at the bar, as it will help you combine with the crowd and at least give you something to do. As a brewer likes to note, Seltzer is similar to vodka.
Boredom can become another mental obstacle that sometimes leads to drinking, as many people experienced during the pandemic. And only the willpower will not necessarily survive you. Schlauch recommends joining a social network that supports your priorities such as a club that works, or sober dance party group daybreaker. This will help fill your free time as long as you follow your goals.
Alternatives of alcohol are everywhere
Although Seltzer is definitely one option, there is an expanding world of non -alcoholic beverages for study. Products such as non -alcoholic beer Athletic Brewing Co. And the non -alcoholic apéritif GHIA, became home names. Even big alcohol brands such as Budweiser, Heineken and Guinness, seeking a growing non -alcoholic beer market.
Barry is increasingly offered the highlighted “NA” menu, and some hills without booze, such as the Sans Bar in Austin, Texas and Maketing Birds in Brooklyn, New York. Not surprisingly, drinks for better load mean that you are likely to order them according to the fishing rod.
You can also go the route yourself. Natalia Battalia, based in Australia, offers mixing in shiny water, apple cider vinegar and kombucha or tea to replace a cocktail bite. The recipe books and reports in social media are also filled with ideas as a “sleepy girl” trend filled with magnesium, a “sleepy girl” that flew in 2024.
For people who seek to just cut their drink but not give up completely, there are approaches such as “striped zebra” (alternation of alcoholic and non -alcoholic beverage while consuming alcohol consumption only on weekends. Some even lean toward life style “California” out of a sober “, remembering alcohol with cannabis (sometimes in the form of drinks), which changes in the legality depending on where you live and comes with your own sets of health risks. Keep in mind that Wood has said it does not know about evidence The fact that drinking is the “striped zebra” or in California, sober, will help reduce alcohol consumption in the long run and, in terms of health, the most daring step of all.
