Author: Alex Thompson

What Happens When You Stop Drinking Alcohol?

However, medical complications can occur during the acute phase of withdrawal. For people who experience hallucinations as part of alcohol withdrawal, these may begin in the 12- to 24-hour time frame. During the 12- to 24-hour time frame after the last drink, most people will begin to have noticeable symptoms. These may still be mild, or the existing symptoms might increase in severity. It takes a large amount of alcohol for this to occur and once it does, a person could live years normally before the liver stops functioning correctly.

Over time, however, the body builds a tolerance to alcohol, and a person may have to drink more and more to get the same feeling. Meanwhile, the brain is producing more and more neurotransmitters, making a person further imbalanced. Alcohol interferes with your ability to feel sexual stimulation and can delay orgasms. People may notice they have more energy, so sexual function can be improved by stopping drinking. Heavy drinkers usually have tell-tale signs; they often look red-faced or puffy with bags under their eyes.

Health Risks of Alcohol Use

My patients are aged 18 and over and typically belong to higher socio-economic groups; around half of them have private medical plans, while the others are self-paid. In terms of addiction, around 85 percent of the work I do is related to alcohol. Many of my clients with depression often have an underlying alcohol problem, which they don’t initially disclose but emerges as time goes on.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology adds that limiting or quitting alcohol while you’re having cancer treatment may help you avoid complications. This includes cancer recurrence or the development of secondary primary tumors (SPTs). When you quit drinking, you’ll probably notice that the colds, flu, and other illnesses you always seem to catch happen less often. When you do get sick, you’ll probably feel like you recover more easily when you’re sober.

1. This is alcohol withdrawal, and it causes uncomfortable physical and emotional symptoms.
2. Many involve a combination of group psychotherapy (talk therapy) and medications.
3. But if you quit, your brain seems to be able to regain some of these abilities.
4. This is because alcohol is a depressant, so when it’s no longer in your system, your body has more energy to work with.
5. This is because alcohol can cause fatigue and decreased motivation, so when you stop drinking, you may find it easier to get things done.

After a month, those who refrained from drinking experienced a range of positive health benefits not seen in a similar group of people who continued to drink. On average, the abstainers’ blood pressure decreased by 6%, they lost around 3.3 pounds (1.5 kilograms) and their insulin resistance, which reflects a person’s risk of developing diabetes, fell by 25%. This typically occurs after five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women.

Medications to Ease Withdrawal Symptoms

This is alcohol withdrawal, and it causes uncomfortable physical and emotional symptoms. This article discusses alcohol withdrawal, its symptoms, and potential complications. It also provides an overview of the alcohol withdrawal timeline process and when to discuss your drinking with your healthcare provider. If you need a break from alcohol, going alcohol-free for a month or more can bring about many physical and mental health benefits.

Other studies, such as this one from 2022, have found similar results, showing no health benefits of consuming alcohol in moderation for people under 40, only risks. It is still unknown whether these positive effects of abstinence persist beyond a month, but Moore speculated it could be possible. “It’s quite clear that alcohol has a physiological effect on the body, so I’d be surprised if all those effects just wore off,” he said. The team saw these results after adjusting for changes in diet, exercise and smoking, so the changes could be linked to people’s alcohol use. Start by talking to your doctor about how much alcohol you’ve been using and your plan to quit. It’s important that you work with your doctor when you’re ready to stop drinking rather than trying to do it alone.

Individuals should be prepared to be uncomfortable during this period and have medical help available if needed. This is the period in which delirium tremens is most likely to occur, which requires immediate medical attention. One of the unexpected benefits of giving up alcohol is that you may find yourself more productive than before. This is because alcohol can cause fatigue and decreased motivation, so when you stop drinking, you may find it easier to get things done. One of the surprising side effects of giving up alcohol is that your skin may start to look better. This is because alcohol can cause dehydration, which can lead to dry, dull skin.

What Causes Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms?

For over 20 years Dr. Umhau was a senior clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). On the other hand, if you drink in moderation, alcohol doesn’t affect LDL and instead increases good cholesterol (HDL). However, when you drink in excess, the enzyme gets saturated and is metabolized by a different enzyme. Because the liver is a tolerant organ, he said positive changes can occur within weeks of going dry. Heavy drinking can actually cause the part of the brain that’s critical to memory and learning (hippocampus), to shrink. Alcohol can also affect digestion, storage, utilization, and excretion of nutrients.

Physical Benefits of Quitting Alcohol

Then, the liver will become more and more abnormal, unless you stop drinking completely. In my opinion, abnormal liver function is a sign to stop drinking completely, immediately. So, while we can metabolize around a unit of alcohol an hour, if you drink a lot, everyday, your body has to rid your system of those toxins.

Many people with alcohol use disorder also have other mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. Most people with mild to moderate alcohol withdrawal don’t need treatment in a hospital. But severe or complicated alcohol withdrawal can result in lengthy hospital stays and even time in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Moore hypothesized that instead of causing cancer to develop in the first place, these findings may suggest that alcohol instead promotes cancer’s growth once it gets a footing in the body. To confirm this speculation, however, the team would need to conduct a long-term study of moderate drinkers, the authors noted in their report. Severe and complicated alcohol withdrawal requires treatment in a hospital — sometimes in the ICU. While receiving treatment, healthcare providers will want to monitor you continuously to make sure you don’t develop life-threatening complications. Whether you’re challenging yourself to a no-drink stint (hello, Dry January) or considering cutting back on alcohol in general, your body can experience some real changes when you stop drinking.

Research shows that drinking large amounts of alcohol before bedtime leads to decreased sleep onset and disrupted, poor quality sleep later in the night. Depending on the person, Kumar said she sometimes suggests cutting back on alcohol to lose weight. For anyone concerned about heart health, Dasgupta recommended decreasing alcohol intake and increasing physical activity, which also raises good cholesterol. “[The bottom line] is, protect the heart with [a] low amount of alcohol, but increase the risk of cardiovascular disease with high amount of alcohol,” Dasgupta said.