Giving up booze? Happy Dry January!

Whether you’re just trying to make up for all that extra imbibing over the holidays or you are trying to kick-start a sustained period of abstinence, there’s a lot of buzz right now around the notion of Dry January, where you start the year with a month of no booze. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

The tradition is particularly popular in Britain but it has followers here, too. Some of the perks include giving your liver a break and significantly cutting down on calories. Besides, the concept is a lot more appealing when you can still remember that champagne hangover you had on New Year’s Day.

As USA Today notes, the teetotaling practice gained traction after a British nonprofit promoted it in 2013 and it gave birth to a government-backed public health campaign targeting ways to boost healthy living.

A University of Sussex study showed that giving up hooch during January can lead to decreased consumption all year long. No less than 62 percent of the participants reported better sleep; 62 percent said they had more energy; and 49 percent said they lost weight. They likely also saved some dough on fancy craft cocktails.

“What’s really interesting to see is that these changes in alcohol consumption were also seen in the participants who didn’t complete the whole month alcohol-free,” said Dr. Richard de Visser, a senior lecturer in psychology at Sussex, who interviewed the participants. “Even if participants took part but didn’t successfully complete the 31 days, it generally led to a significant decrease across all the measures of alcohol intake.”

Be forewarned, however, there can be a downside as well. Women’s Health reported that if you tend to drink in the evening, you may have become accustomed to “micro-awakenings” while you sleep. You need to get used to sleeping without these, which may mean feeling extra tired for a while, before you reap the benefits of deeper sleep as your body makes the change.

Some also warn that you may well rebound into an even more wet February. It’s like falling off the wagon from your all-kale diet into a vat of fettuccine Alfredo.