Every year, people are tempted by Dry January, and completely abandon alcohol during the first month of the year. But another alternative, much less radical, could appeal to others. Called “Damp January”, it involves reducing your alcohol consumption, but not stopping it completely.
At the start of each year, thousands of people take on the daring challenge of “Dry January”, consisting of no longer drinking alcohol during the month of January. The objective? Take back control of your alcohol consumption and enjoy the joys of sobriety. While some manage to make it to the end of the month without giving in to temptation, others give up during the month.
For them, there may be another alternative: “Damp January” (in French “humid January”, as opposed to “Dry January”, “dry January”). This alternative consists of drinking only on special occasions such as birthdays, weddings or going-away drinks. We also reduce our usual consumption of glasses. For example, if you usually have three drinks at a wedding, limit yourself to one this time. This way, you can enjoy the evening while being sober, without fearing a hangover the next day. You can also make a calendar with imposed days of sobriety, drinking only every other day, or even less. “The aim of ‘Dry January’ is not to encourage people to stop drinking altogether, but to enable them to control their alcohol consumption“, underlines Richard de Visser, psychologist at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, in England, in the columns of the Washington Post.
Reducing alcohol consumption also has beneficial effects on your body. In fact, studies show that a slight reduction in alcohol consumption can lead to improvements in blood pressure, mental health, and liver health. It can also reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. And you may even notice improvements in your sleep, concentration, energy levels, and skin.
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