Alcohol-Free Month
A month without alcohol, with an alternative ready and a line for saying no.
For adults who want to skip alcohol for a month, ideally starting on January 1 or the first day of any month. Each day takes just a morning decision, a non-alcoholic drink ready to go and one line to keep in your pocket.
A day in the program
Tasks, in order.
Times assume waking at 7:00 and going to sleep at 23:00. In the app, they shift to fit you.
Morning
- 8:00Tell yourself: no alcohol todayLifestyle · Every day
When you brush your teeth in the morning, tell yourself that today is alcohol-free and check off the task. It is about today, not the whole month.
Caution. If you drink every day and your hands shake or you sweat in the morning, do not stop suddenly on your own; talk to a doctor first (NHS). If you have confusion, hallucinations or seizures after stopping alcohol, call your local emergency number.
Even an unfinished attempt. Dry January participants drank less six months later, even those who did not last the whole month, though the drop was more common among those who did (de Visser et al. 2016).
Evening
- 17:00Prepare a line for saying noMind · Every day
When you have a visit, a party or a night at the bar ahead of you, prepare one short line, for example "I'm having something non-alcoholic tonight, I'm doing an alcohol-free month."
An if-then plan. A plan in the form "when X happens, I will do Y" has a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals (Gollwitzer and Sheeran 2006).
- 18:00Have a non-alcoholic drinkLifestyle · Every day
When the time comes when you would usually pour a drink, have something non-alcoholic, such as sparkling water with lemon or alcohol-free beer. Keep it ready in the fridge.
Myth: a nightcap helps you sleep. Alcohol may help you fall asleep faster, but it disrupts sleep in the second half of the night and shortens REM (Ebrahim et al. 2013).
General suggestions for everyday wellbeing, not medical advice. Adjust the tasks to suit you. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication regularly, talk to your doctor before making changes.
What our programs build onSources
What the program builds on.
The program points out that if you drink daily and get shaking or sweating, you should stop with a doctor's help, not on your own and all at once.
A ready line for saying no is an "if they offer, I'll say" plan, which has a medium-to-large effect.
- Ebrahim et al. 2013: Alcohol and sleep I: effects on normal sleep (review) (opens in a new tab)review
An evening non-alcoholic drink is part of the program because alcohol disrupts sleep in the second half of the night.
The program assumes that even an unfinished month is worth it: Dry January participants drank less six months later (an association, not proof of cause).