The Livelong Newsletter

Hi everyone,

This time of year is always a whirlwind. 

As we come down off a month of festivities, there is a palpable need to rest, recharge, and reset for the 2025 year ahead.

The ‘Dry January’ challenge (abstaining from alcohol for the month of January) could be a good way to kickoff the new year. 

Since “any amount of alcohol is considered to be harmful,” 30 days of sobriety is a straightforward means of starting the year with better physical and mental health.

But how exactly does the challenge impact health?

Let’s dive in.

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Does Dry January actually help you live longer?

Dry January…perfect for the ‘Sober-Curious’

Dry January can be beneficial for most anyone, and recent trends tell us that a surprisingly high amount of people are looking to cut back in some way.

In 2024, over 40% of people were sober-curious, meaning they were considering how much alcohol they drink, according to a poll from Civic Science. 

The trend is shaped around Gen Z and millennials and it is having a major pop culture moment, according to an article from August. 

🇫🇷For instance, the hit Netflix TV show “Emily in Paris” features a scene of the titular character/marketing ingenue, Emily, explaining that younger people are intrigued about ‘adopt[ing] a wellness approach to their relationship with alcohol.’

The buzz around cutting back on alcohol also comes as more research connects it with various health concerns.

On January 3, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, issued a request to put a cancer warning on alcoholic beverages, similar to those found on cigarettes and tobacco products.

What are the benefits of “Dry January’

A 2022 study published in the Harm Reduction Journal says these are evidence-based benefits to abstaining from alcohol for one month.

• Improved sleep

• Increased exercise and energy

• Improved diet

• Weight loss

A health panel featured in Real Simple adds that participating in Dry January (or longer abstinence) can also:

• Improve the gut microbiome

• Reduce inflammation

• Promote hormone balance

• Strengthen the immune system

• Improve mood

• Boost heart health

• Increase libido

How 30 days can transform your health

The practice has a lot of bang for its buck, considering the relatively short time frame. The primary drivers are better sleep and mental health, and less inflammation.

Improved Mental health: Alcohol is a depressant, but it also causes a rush of ‘feel-good’ dopamine. A problem arises when dopamine levels drop, which causes anxiety, according to Real Simple.

This can lead to unhealthy dependency in people with mental health conditions.

Improved Sleep: Alcohol reduces sleep quality, namely that it increases brain activity, affects your internal clock, and prevents time in deep sleep, according to an article in the Daily Record. Taking a break can reset your sleep patterns and lead to better repair.

Less Chronic inflammation: Inflammation is the root of many symptoms and health conditions.

What can start as joint pain and headaches can—in time—become diabetes, heart disease, and cancer (this can take years, if not decades, so there’s no better time to get healthy than the present).

Healthier Liver: Like a bad boyfriend, alcohol is toxic…to the liver. In excess, alcohol kills liver cells (which are our bodies' natural filtration system) and the liver can stop functioning properly over time. 

Drinking in excess can eventually lead to fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer and other digestive cancers, according to Mayo Clinic, so abstinence can give it a chance to heal.

• In certain situations, a damaged liver can completely repair itself in 30 days if there are no complications, which means that the challenge could truly invite some positive change.

Better Skin: ‘Alcohol is actually one of the worst, most aggressive compounds to destroy your skin,” says New York nutritionist Jairo Rodriguez in Vogue. 

It dehydrates and inflames the skin (ie. post-wine flushed cheeks), and abstaining for a short time can reduce the inflammatory triggers (alcohol itself, sugar, and wheat).

Do you have to give it up completely?

Everyone has the right to make their own health decisions, and risks may depend on setting, quantity, and frequency.

For instance, the risks of drinking moderate amounts in a social environment are less than the benefits of socializing, according to Duane Mellor of the British Dietetic Association.

The surgeon general also says that the risks are greater when you drink more.

“If an individual drinks occasionally for special events, or if you’re drinking a drink or two a week, your risk is likely to be significantly less than if you’re drinking every day,” Murthy says.

If you embark on the 30-day Dry January challenge, it could be an opportunity to become sober curious, rather than cut it completely from your life. Try using the time to evaluate your current relationship with it.

🍹 Celebrate the journey with a mocktail!

It was hard to practice sobriety, even just 15 years ago, given the limited non-alcoholic products (and poor tasting choices), lack of social appeal, and stigma.

That’s since changed. With a record of non-alcoholic brewing companies using high-end technology to develop similar-tasting products, it’s to the point where you won’t miss alcohol at all!

If you choose to participate in Dry January, get curious and explore some of these products, or get crafty and make your own mocktail.

Alcohol in 2025

• ⚠️ Surgeon General Calls for Cancer Warnings on Alcohol. New York Times. Jan 3, 2025.

•  🍹 These nine non-alcoholic drinks can spice up your celebrations without the hangover.

• 🍺 California is the cornucopia of health…and booze.

Don’t Miss:

We love books — Start the new year with a new read about living longer

Today’s top pods 👇— Go back and giving these a listen.

• Long live policy — Edwina Rogers talks educating policymakers on longevity.

• The optimal female longevity protocol — Biohacker Kayla Barnes-Lentz gives the low-down on longevity.

Longevity Media LLC

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