31 Days That Could Change Your Year: What the Science Actually Says About Dry January
Every January, millions of people attempt Dry January—a month-long break from alcohol. It's become so popular that in 2024, 16% of UK adults (about 8.5 million people) planned to participate. But does it actually work? And what happens to your body when you stop drinking for a month?
A new scoping review from Brown University analyzed 16 peer-reviewed studies tracking over 150,000 Dry January participants. The findings are striking: just 31 days without alcohol creates measurable improvements in liver function, sleep, mood, brain health, and blood pressure. And here's the key finding—you don't have to successfully abstain the entire month to see benefits.
Who Participates?
Dry January participants tend to be younger, female, more educated, and have higher incomes than the general drinking population. Interestingly, they also tend to be heavier drinkers who are already concerned about their alcohol consumption.
This challenges the common criticism that Dry January only attracts people who don't really need it. The research shows the opposite: people who participate tend to be those who recognize their drinking has become problematic and are motivated to change.
What Happens Week by Week
The physiological changes during alcohol abstinence follow a predictable timeline:
Week 1: Liver Repair Begins
Your liver has been working overtime to process a toxin. When you stop drinking, it finally gets a chance to heal itself. After just one week:
Inflammation starts dropping
Liver fat begins decreasing (15-20% reduction after one month)
Liver enzymes start normalizing
Sleep quality improves (though you may initially feel worse)
Your body begins detoxifying more efficiently
Week 2: Your Gut Barrier Heals
Alcohol disrupts the tight junctions between intestinal cells and damages the protective mucus layer, creating what researchers call "leaky gut." This allows bacteria and toxins to escape into your bloodstream and trigger inflammation throughout your body.
By week two:
Intestinal lining regenerates
Digestion improves dramatically
Energy levels increase
Systemic inflammation decreases
Bloating subsides
Week 3: Dopamine Receptors Reset
Chronic drinking depletes dopamine, your brain's reward chemical. Your brain compensates by producing less dopamine naturally, keeping you dependent on external stimulation (alcohol) to feel normal.
By week three of abstinence:
Dopamine receptors start returning to healthy levels
Cravings for sugar, processed foods, and alcohol drop significantly
You stop needing a drink to feel good
Mood stabilizes
Week 4: The Transformation
By the fourth week, the benefits become undeniable:
Brain fog lifts completely
Anxiety and depression decrease
Skin glows (reduced inflammation shows in your complexion)
Better concentration and mental clarity
Significantly more energy
Improved mood and emotional regulation
Lower blood pressure
The Biological Evidence
Beyond self-reported improvements, biological markers confirmed the changes:
Improved insulin resistance
Decreased blood pressure
Reduced growth factors associated with cancer
Improved liver function (measured by enzyme levels)
Decreased liver fat
Lower blood glucose
Weight loss
These weren't subjective feelings—they were measurable physiological improvements documented in blood work and medical assessments.
You Don't Have to Be Perfect
Here's the most important finding: participants who didn't fully abstain for the entire month still reported substantial benefits one month later, including improved mental well-being, increased self-efficacy in resisting drinking, decreased drinking frequency, reduced drunkenness, and lower overall alcohol consumption.
Six months after participating, even those who weren't fully successful reported drinking less than before they started. This suggests important harm reduction effects even without perfect abstinence.
The Sustainability Factor
The most important finding from the Brown study: most people who complete Dry January continue drinking less afterward. The reset is sustainable. Participants reported that the benefits they experienced during the month motivated them to maintain lower alcohol consumption long-term.
Ninety-two percent of participants said they would do Dry January again.
Rebound Effects Are Rare
One concern about temporary abstinence challenges is whether people "rebound" and drink more heavily afterward. The research shows this happens in only a small subset of participants (about 15%), and it's more likely among those who didn't successfully abstain during January. Among those who completed the full month, only 8% reported increased drunkenness six months later.
Who Succeeds?
Predictors of successfully completing Dry January include:
Lower baseline alcohol consumption
Lower AUDIT scores (a measure of alcohol use disorder risk)
Higher drink refusal self-efficacy
Reading all the Dry January support messages
Social support
Self-monitoring and journaling
Planning social activities in advance
Having non-alcoholic drink options ready
Interestingly, being male was associated with higher success rates, despite women being more likely to participate.
Resources Matter
Ninety-six percent of participants signed up for email support, and engagement with Dry January resources was a key predictor of success. Those who read every support message were significantly more likely to complete the month.
This suggests that formal registration and use of support tools—not just informal participation—is critical for success.
"Damp January" Works Too
Recently, the term "Damp January" has gained popularity, referring to reducing alcohol consumption during January without complete abstinence. The research suggests this approach still yields benefits.
For people who find complete abstinence daunting or unrealistic, harm reduction approaches like Damp January may be more sustainable and still produce meaningful health improvements.
Critical Warning
If you're a heavy drinker and experience tremors, confusion, rapid heart rate, or seizures when you stop drinking, seek medical help immediately. Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous and may require medical supervision. Dry January is not intended for people with severe alcohol use disorders.
How to Succeed
Based on the research, here's what helps:
Track your progress daily (participants who journaled had better outcomes)
Replace the ritual, not just the drink (mocktails, herbal teas, sparkling water with citrus)
Tell people your plan (social accountability matters)
Eat a liver-friendly diet (cruciferous vegetables, fiber, antioxidants)
Register officially and use the support resources
The Population-Level Question
Despite growing participation, Dry January hasn't yet produced measurable population-level changes in drinking patterns. This is likely because it hasn't reached the participation threshold required to move the needle at scale.
Simulation studies suggest that if 20% of eligible adults (those consuming 3+ drinks daily) participated, there would be minor reductions in population-level alcohol consumption. If 100% participated, reductions would be moderate.
The campaign needs to reach under-represented groups—men, older adults, and people with lower incomes and education—to maximize public health impact.
The Bottom Line
Thirty-one days without alcohol produces measurable improvements in liver function, gut health, brain chemistry, sleep, mood, energy, skin, blood pressure, and metabolic markers. Even if you don't make it the full month, you'll likely experience benefits and drink less going forward.
Dry January isn't about perfection or punishment. It's a reset—a chance to see what your body can do when you give it a break from processing a toxin. For many people, the benefits they experience during that month are enough to motivate long-term changes in their relationship with alcohol.
Try it for 31 days. Your body is waiting to show you what it can do.
References: Strowger, M., Meisel, M.K., Uriarte, S., & Colby, S.M. (2025). A scoping review of Dry January: Evidence and future directions. Alcohol and Alcoholism.
