Short ride on the wagon starts long journey of joy

● Feeling a little partied out? Expecting to wake up sometime on Tuesday afternoon with a babalas? Well, scientists have some great news as 2019 approaches.

They say a dry January is so beneficial that it can leave you on a high … in August.

Research among 800 people in the UK who took part in a “Dry January” campaign this year showed that abstaining from booze for a month helped them regain control of their drinking, have more energy and lose weight.

The research subjects reported that in August they were:

● Drinking 3.3 days a week on average (down from 4.3);

● Consuming 7.1 units of alcohol per drinking day (down from 8.6); and

● Ending up drunk 2.1 times a month on average (down from 3.4).

“The simple act of taking a month off alcohol helps people drink less in the long term,” said study leader Richard de Visser, a psychologist at the University of Sussex.

In addition to the longer-term payoffs, he said, “There are also considerable immediate benefits: nine in 10 people save money, seven in 10 sleep better and three in five lose weight.”

Even if people failed to stay dry for the whole of January, the act of trying to do so reduced their drinking in the longer term.

According to a new poll by Alcohol Change UK, the charity organisation that’s behind Dry January, one in 10 people who drink are planning to be on the wagon next month.

The charity’s CEO, Richard Piper, said Dry January can change lives. “We hear every day from people who took charge of their drinking using Dry January and who feel healthier and happier as a result.

“The brilliant thing about Dry January is that it’s not really about January. Being alcoholfree for 31 days shows us that we don’t need alcohol to have fun, relax, or socialise, which means that, for the rest of the year, we’re better able to make decisions about our drinking, and can avoid slipping into drinking more than we really want to.”