The benefits of alcohol abstinence are already seen after 24 hours: this is how health improves after a day, one week, one month and in the long run.
Alcohol hurts to healtheven in moderate quantities: science has no more doubts about it, and some negative effects of alcohol consumption is realized only when you stop drinking.
Inspired by an article published on The Conversation, We then propose an experiment: a few days without consuming beer, wine or other drinks, to try firsthand the waterfall of benefits on the health of the absence of alcohol in the body. After a short time you may surprise yourself than you feel better. Here, however, what to expect when they don’t drink alcohol, step by step.
After a day
The first benefits of the stop to alcohol could already warn after 24 hours. You could start by feeling more hydratedbecause alcohol makes you pee more often and because the body absorbs the water that we immediately introduce. With hydration they improve digestion, energy levels and brain functions.
Also Blood sugar levels normalize: Since the alcohol metabolism takes place in the liver, which is also occupied in the metabolism of sugars, drinking alcohol reduces the liver ability to regulate the concentration of sugar in the blood.
Who consumes alcohol habitually it could feel worse at this junctureand have symptoms of a slight form of alcohol abstinence, such as intense sweats, tremors, sleep and mood disorders, which are generally resolved within a week. The most serious forms of alcohol abstinence must not be taken under leg: for those who consume important quantities of alcohol, it is important to face the interruption under control and medical indications.
After a week
The quality of sleep has already improved And you feel full of energy. In fact, even if alcohol initially has a sedative effect, in reality in the early hours of the night, when it is still present in the body at high levels, it alters sleep architecture. In those who usually consume alcohol, the amount of slow wave sleep – the deepest phase of sleep – is reduced, while sleep with rapid eye movements (Rem) is more intense than normal.
Liverwhich purifies the body from toxins, produces bile, facilitates the metabolism of sugars and the absorption and digestion of fats, After a week without alcohol begins to regenerate and to repair the damage that even a moderate alcohol consumption can inflict. When we consume alcohol, the liver works to break it down and its cells can come out damaged.
In addition, alcoholic beverages facilitate the accumulation of fat in the liver cells, a condition called Hepatic steatosis (fatty liver) associated with liver damage, onset of tumors and cardiovascular problems.
After a week without alcohol begins to improve the health of the brain. In fact, the drinkers have a higher risk of presenting brain damage than non -drinkers.
After a month
Alcohol worsens the symptoms of anxiety and depression and after a few weeks of abstinence from its consumption we notice The first positive effects on mental healthalso thanks to the newfound quality of sleep. Alcohol consumption makes it more difficult to stabilize mood, because this substance alters the brain chemistry.
Its depressive effect slows down the brain and the nervous system by altering neurotransmitters, chemical messengers that regulate mood and emotions. Initially it makes us feel more relaxed, but these alterations can worsen anxious or depressive states. Also, alcohol temporarily increases serotonin levels By causing fleeting sensations of calm, but when serotonin returns to fall, you feel irritable and anxious.
It appears more … young peoplebecause without alcohol you have probably lost weight and the skin is more hydrated and less inflamed. But you are younger in: It digests better because the inflammatory effect has ceased on the stomach and intestine, Blood pressure has lowered itselftumor risk factors related to alcohol consumption have returned.
After six months
Any liver damage have completely returned, because the liver cells have had time to regenerate. The immune system, which can be damaged in chronic drinkers, is more efficient in fighting infections.
After a year or more
The abstinence supported over time It significantly reduces the risk of getting cancer: a study that investigated the oncogenic risk of alcohol out of 4 million consumers concluded that, for moderate drinkers who stop, the slice of risk of getting cancer linked to alcohol falls by 4%; For those who drink many alcohol, move on to moderate consumption (i.e. within two alcoholic units per day for men, one for women, where an alcoholic unit is the amount of alcohol contained in a 33 cl beer or in a glass of wine) reduces this same risk of 9%.
By interrupting the consumption of alcohol you could also protect you from hypertension, the most common cause of death in the world, and have decreased the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular problems, diabetes, mental diseases and tumors.
