What Happens to Your Body When You Stop Drinking? Side Effects & Benefits

Alcohol consumption can lead to fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer in that order. To prevent and minimize these uncomfortable symptoms, addiction treatment professionals highly recommend seeking help from a medical professional in an alcohol detox treatment center. Alcohol treatment medications, usually benzodiazepines, are administered to minimize alcohol withdrawal symptoms and prevent delirium tremens and any medically dangerous outcomes. Beyond these immediate benefits, quitting alcohol can also have a profound long-term impact on your health. You’re lowering your risk of heart disease, stroke, and even certain types of cancer.

Long-Term Benefits of Staying Alcohol-Free: Physical and Mental Health Benefits

When you stop drinking, it can feel like entering a whole new world and like a fog that you didn’t even know was there has suddenly lifted. Stopping alcohol will reduce the number of empty calories that you consume. Not only will you reduce your overall calorie intake, but you will also likely replace some of these calories from healthier sources. This will lead to improved nutrition, which can profoundly impact your overall health, especially over time.

What Happens After 60 Days Without Alcohol?

• Some of these changes will be difficult to experience because they may be unpleasant at first.
• Not only will you have more money, but you’ll also have a lot more time to spend on the things that you love doing.
• Contact us today to learn more about our comprehensive detox and recovery programs.
• Completing 30 days without alcohol is a huge accomplishment and it’s within your reach.

Medical professionals at treatment centers administer and adjust medications as needed. This helps you through the initial difficult stages, providing a strong foundation. For those with heavy drinking habits, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, including the DTs, is a serious concern. This is also important for those with co-occurring substance use, such as opioid addiction, as withdrawal from multiple substances can be complex. When alcohol intake is reduced, most drinkers-gone-teetotal report younger looking skin, improved heart health, stronger immune systems, and better sleep. With the absence of alcohol’s empty calories, it’s possible that weight loss becomes more achievable.

Quitting Alcohol Timeline: What Happens When You Stop Drinking?

Once you get through that part of the process, you’ll start to feel better physically and mentally. According to the American Heart Association, even moderate drinking—just one drink a day—can contribute to high blood pressure, especially after the age of 35. Many people find that committing to a period of sobriety can be incredibly beneficial for their mental and physical what happens when you stop drinking alcohol health. By taking a break from alcohol, you give your body a chance to heal and reset. For example, experiencing 30 days without alcohol can provide a clear perspective on the benefits of sobriety. Additionally, reaching the milestone of one year sober offers deeper insights into how sobriety can transform your life.

Better Sleep Patterns

According to Volpicelli, the cognitive changes people can have from drinking—like memory trouble, slowed reaction time, difficulty controlling behavior, and poor concentration—get worse over time. There are certain brain alcoholism chemicals called excitatory neurotransmitters that will stop doing their job when you drink, which can make you feel sleepy and sedated. Among the many ways that alcohol can suppress the immune system, booze can negatively impact the balance of the gut microbiota. Poor gut health and microbiota imbalance can ultimately weaken one aspect of how our body protects us from illness. Alcohol can cause problems in relationships, such as conflicts, communication problems, and trust issues. So, giving up alcohol may help you to improve your relationships with friends and family.

What happens to the stomach after quitting drinking?

And the benefits of sobriety might be years, not months, down the road. Still, it’s good to know that the protective effects can be both fast-acting and long-lasting. The more you drink, the more likely it is that you’ll damage parts of your heart that you really, really need. If you drink a lot, you might notice heart symptoms that seem to be worse—like palpitations and higher blood pressure—when you first stop drinking.

Detox

If you’re considering a https://ecosoberhouse.com/ break from alcohol, it might also be helpful to think about why you drink. “Maybe it’s relief from your worries or connection with friends. Regular drinking raises estrogen levels and reduces testosterone. For men, this can look like lowered libido and erectile dysfunction, as well as decreased muscle mass.