Just one month off booze can improve a person's sleep habits, promote weight loss and save them money.
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The Dry January campaign is asking people to consider abstaining from alcohol for the entire month of January to give your body a break from the effects of alcohol.
Summer can be a problem time for excessive alcohol use as Christmas, New Years, time off work and good weather sees Australians unwind and relax, often with a beer in hand.
Monash University department of diabetes Professor Merlin Thomas said one month long abstinence campaigns were an important opportunity for people to question their relationship with alcohol.
"The major thing people get from these one month campaigns is the eye-opening effects of understanding your relationship with alcohol, which allows you to better control it," he said.
Dr Thomas said even if you're not entirely successful, Dry January is a good mental prompt to evaluate your alcohol intake.
"People who drink quite a lot find that its really hard to go completely dry for a period of time," he said.
"The most important thing is to reduce the amount you drink and question how alcohol is affecting you, your pocket, your health, sleep, family and interactions."
Research suggests that participants in one month alcohol abstinence national campaigns globally report health benefits, including sleep improvement and weight loss.
Participants in these campaigns are more likely to be female.
Dry January began in 2012 as a public health initiative from Alcohol Change UK, a British charity. Now millions take part in this health challenge every year.
It differs from Dry July which is the traditional challenge across Australia and New Zealand for people to go alcohol free while raising money for people with cancer.
Several other campaigns exist globally including Sober October, February Fast, and the Buddhist Lent Dry Campaign which runs for three months in Thailand.
The COVID pandemic changed Australian drinking habits, with studies revealing that those in childcaring roles, particularly middle-aged women, increased their intake during lockdowns.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, of all substances, legal and illegal, alcohol is the leading cause for ambulance call outs.
A Victorian study of 43,003 ambulance call outs from September 2019 to September 2020 found alcohol intoxication call outs increased with the length of each lockdown.
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Dr Thomas said using alcohol as a coping mechanism during the lockdowns may be a difficult habit to break.
"We've got into our protective zone, and its become something we do every day. And so you need a shock like a period of abstinence to take you out of your habit," he said.
"When you've established bad habits it's really important to have a period of looking at them carefully and saying, do I need to be doing this?"
Evidence indicates that both the amount and frequency of alcohol use are directly associated with an increased mortality resulting from various medical risks, including cancer, stroke, coronary disease and heart failure.
A 2019 study of Dry January participants found that that 86 per cent had saved money and 81 per cent felt more in control of their drinking,
The Alcohol and Drug Support Line is available 24/ by calling (08) 9442 5000 or 1800 198 024 (toll-free for country callers).
