Are there health benefits to cutting back on alcohol while still enjoying the occasional ballgame beer or wine with dinner?
A growing “sober curious” movement involves mindfully limiting or temporarily abstaining from alcohol without necessarily quitting.
If total sobriety is daunting or you’re curious about how drinking less could improve your health, Dawn Flickema, MD, an integrative medicine doctor, offered some whole-body benefits to consider.
How Many Drinks Are OK?
Even if you don’t eliminate alcohol completely, any move you make to reduce your intake has a positive impact on your health.
“Alcohol in moderation is better than overusing alcohol,” said Flickema.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends no more than two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women.
“If you look at alcohol’s connection to things like cancer, Alzheimer’s and different chronic illnesses, the recommendation is much less than one or two drinks a day,” said Flickema.
Some researchers who study the gut microbiome (the microorganisms in your intestines) recommend closer to three or four drinks per month at most, according to Flickema.
What Is Sober Curious?
The sober curious approach encourages you to reflect on how much and how often you drink, which can help you stay intentional about your usage and keep your intake within these recommended limits.
This involves questioning your reasons for drinking and how your routine and community impact your alcohol use — all with the goal of living a healthier life.
How do you know if your drinking is mindful? Reflect on the following questions:
- Why do I drink — do I use it as a crutch or to decrease anxiety in social settings?
- Do I ever drink purely out of habit?
- How do I feel during and after drinking — do I feel relaxed and connected? Anxious? Disoriented?
- Do I use alcohol to cope with or avoid difficult emotions?
- Does drinking help or hurt my relationships and goals?
If you find you often drink out of habit, avoidance or pressure from others, consider taking a break or limiting your intake.
Tips for starting your sober curious journey:
- Examine your habits — Take note of the time of day or specific circumstances that you associate with drinking alcohol and try changing your routine.
- Substitute alcoholic drinks — Consider non-alcoholic drinks that have a similar taste and mouth feel without the toxins. Sometimes just having a water or tea in your hands makes socializing easier.
- Consider your circle — Because many of your lifestyle habits come from the people closest to you, make sure you’re spending time with those who have a good influence on your daily practices. Examine whether certain friends and family members offer support in your goals or tempt you to indulge in bad habits.
- Make small adjustments — Set yourself up for success by making little adjustments toward healthier habits, rather than attempting sudden and extreme changes.
“Whenever you’re trying to make a change, don’t try to do a big overhaul immediately, like an overnight, turn-over-a-new-leaf kind of change,” said Flickema. “Making small, incremental changes is most successful for maintaining that healthy lifestyle for the long term.”
When Mindful Drinking Doesn’t Work
Cutting back won't work for everyone. The sober curious movement is meant for those who do not have an alcohol dependency, and individuals with an addiction to alcohol are encouraged to seek help from an addiction counselor.
You have options for getting addiction care close to home:
What Are the Physical Benefits of Decreasing Alcohol Use?
Some physical benefits of reducing your alcohol intake include:
- Healthier liver
- Lower blood sugar
- Lower blood pressure
- Weight loss
“Alcohol is a toxin that your body has to metabolize and clear out of your system, so decreasing your alcohol intake is a good way to detoxify — to lessen that toxic burden on your body,” said Flickema.
Alcohol is also a sleep disruptor, causing frequent wakings throughout the night and resulting in less restorative sleep. Poor sleep can then correlate with other issues such as Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline as we age. Cutting back on drinking helps improve sleep quality by easing those disruptions.
What Are the Mental Health Benefits of Decreasing Alcohol Use?
“Alcohol is a mood depressant, so if you have any predisposition to a depressed mood, it’s going to exacerbate that,” said Flickema.
Also, through the gut-brain connection, your gut ecosystem has a lot to do with feedback to the brain and brain function.
“Because alcohol is a toxin to the beneficial bacteria in your gut, if you’re taking in significant amounts of alcohol, you don’t have as many good players in there, which can affect your overall mood,” said Flickema.
Easing up on how much alcohol you drink can reverse or minimize these negative effects on your mental health.
Decreasing your alcohol intake can result in:
- Better concentration
- Improved mood
- Greater mental clarity
How Can Integrative Medicine Help You Reduce Your Alcohol Use?
Integrative medicine looks at all the different aspects of your lifestyle, giving you a whole-body perspective on your drinking habits.
Integrative medicine explores the following:
- Nutritional intake
- Alcohol intake
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Stress management
A health coach can help you look at a lifestyle improvement you want to make, like limiting alcohol, set priorities and then work on a goal or two at a time, offering accountability for the changes you’re making.
“If somebody requires more in-depth help beyond what a health coach is trained to do, they can then be referred to a counselor or other professional if there are some other underlying issues that are contributing to alcohol intake,” said Flickema.
Talk with your primary provider for help reducing your alcohol intake. They may refer you to integrative medicine or behavioral health.
