What happens when you stop drinking? It depends on one question

First, which kind of stopping is this?

Two people can stop drinking on the same day and have completely different experiences. The difference is dependence. The NHS describes withdrawal symptoms when you stop or cut down as a sign your body is dependent on alcohol, and lists other signs of alcohol-use disorder, including craving alcohol, for example needing a drink when you wake up in the morning, and needing more alcohol to get the same effect.

If any of that sounds like you, the rest of this page is not a reason to stop on your own. NIAAA warns that when someone who has been drinking heavily for a long time suddenly stops, the body can go into a painful or even life-threatening withdrawal, and that doctors can prescribe medicines to make it safer and less distressing.

If your body is dependent: the first days

The NHS lists the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal as anxiety, difficulty sleeping, feeling and being sick, a racing heartbeat, sweating and shaking, seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not there, confusion and seizures. They begin within 6 to 12 hours of the last drink and usually last from 3 to 7 days, but some symptoms may last for a few months, especially after heavy drinking.

It says it can be very dangerous to stop drinking suddenly if you are dependent, and to get medical help before you try to stop if you get withdrawal symptoms. Treatment can include medical help for withdrawal, either at home or in hospital.

The NHS says to call 999 or go to A&E if you or someone else has severe withdrawal symptoms after stopping drinking, such as:

• shaking visibly;
• being unusually restless, irritable or upset;
• confusion, for example not knowing what day it is;
• seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not there;
• having a seizure.

If you are not dependent: what a month off changed

The clearest measurements come from a 2018 study published in BMJ Open. It followed 94 healthy regular drinkers who stopped for a month and 47 who carried on drinking; people with liver disease or alcohol dependence were excluded. The abstainers had been drinking about 258 g of alcohol a week, roughly 32 UK units or 18 US standard drinks.

After one month without alcohol, the abstainers' insulin resistance fell by 25.9%, systolic blood pressure by 6.6%, diastolic blood pressure by 6.3% and weight by 1.5%. Two cancer-related growth factors, VEGF and EGF, also fell. None of these changes was explained by diet, exercise or smoking, and the people who kept drinking showed no significant changes.

It was an observational study, not a randomised trial: volunteers chose which group to join. Our guide to Dry January benefits goes through the study and its limits in more detail.

Mornings, energy and sleep

The NHS lists the immediate effects of cutting down on alcohol as feeling better in the mornings, being less tired during the day, better-looking skin, feeling more energetic and better weight management.

On sleep, it explains that although alcohol can help some people fall asleep quickly, it can disrupt sleep patterns and stop you sleeping deeply, so cutting down should help you feel more rested when you wake up. Our guide on why you wake up at 3am after drinking explains what alcohol does to the night.

Six months later

Researchers at the University of Sussex surveyed 857 British adults who signed up for Dry January, at the start, after one month and after six months. Six months on, people who had taken part were drinking less and felt more confident refusing drinks, whether or not they had completed the month, though the changes were more likely in those who had. Very few reported drinking more afterwards.

A later Sussex study compared 1,192 Dry January participants with 1,549 other drinkers. Improvements in health, well-being, control over drinking and AUDIT-C scores were seen in people who completed Dry January and not in the other drinkers. Both studies relied on self-reported questionnaires from volunteers.

Over the longer term, the NHS says cutting down can help lower the risk of serious conditions linked to drinking too much, including cancer, diabetes, dementia, stroke, and heart, liver and kidney problems.

Why day-by-day quitting timelines are guesswork

Many pages promise what happens on day 3, week 2 or day 30. The studies above measured people at the start and end of a month, and the Sussex surveys again at six months. We did not find a study that measured the body day by day after stopping, so a precise daily timeline for someone who is not dependent is not something the evidence can give.

The one schedule the evidence does give is for withdrawal, and that one is a reason to involve a doctor, not a countdown to follow alone.

Common questions

When to get help

This site offers self-help tools and information, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor, or call one of the lines below, if:

• you feel shaky, sweaty, sick or anxious when you haven't had a drink;
• you find it hard to stop once you start, or you want to cut down and can't;
• drinking is causing problems with your health, work or the people close to you.

Before you stop: It can be very dangerous to stop drinking suddenly if you are dependent on alcohol. If you get withdrawal symptoms, get medical help before you try to stop drinking.

Sources

1. Alcohol-use disorder. NHS. nhs.uk
2. To Cut Down or to Quit (Rethinking Drinking). National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov
3. Mehta G, Macdonald S, Cronberg A, et al. (2018). Short-term abstinence from alcohol and changes in cardiovascular risk factors, liver function tests and cancer-related growth factors: a prospective observational study. BMJ Open, 8(5), e020673. PMID 29730627
4. Tips on cutting down on alcohol. NHS. nhs.uk
5. de Visser RO, Robinson E, Bond R. (2016). Voluntary temporary abstinence from alcohol during "Dry January" and subsequent alcohol use. Health Psychology, 35(3), 281–289. PMID 26690637
6. de Visser RO, Piper R. (2020). Short- and Longer-Term Benefits of Temporary Alcohol Abstinence During 'Dry January' Are Not Also Observed Among Adult Drinkers in the General Population: Prospective Cohort Study. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 55(4), 433–438. PMID 32391879