Today marks 50 days without drinking alcohol. What I learned in this time surprised me, because nobody seems to talk about it.
Alcohol and Smoking Went in Opposite Directions
From the earliest days of human civilization, alcohol has flowed through our veins. And it’s no surprise. Alcohol serves multiple purposes. It’s a “social lubricant,” helping Anxious Andys become Cool Craigs in just a few sips. It feels great, because consumption triggers a release of dopamine and increases GABA production. And before Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration changed the world, American colonists drank alcohol because it’s a natural preservative.
Speaking of colonists, they were into all kinds of substances. Tobacco, for example. And smoking was quite popular for a long time in America. Until science improved and we realized that cigarettes were quite harmful to our health. Here’s what happened to smoking rates.
There’s a clear and steady decline in smoking rates from the 1960s until present day. This is partly due to education about smoking and how it damages the human body, and partly due to societal views of smoking. Smoking used to be seen as “cool.” Now, not so much. When we look at drinking rates, it’s a different story.
Drinking rates have stayed relatively flat for decades. And more than 50% of people have consumed alcohol every year since 1941. Drinkers have outnumbered nondrinkers approximately two to one for the last 80 years.
With the trends we see, one would imagine that alcohol is quite a bit healthier than smoking. After all, it was the data on smoking being bad for health that kickstarted the decline of smoking. But what does the data say about alcohol? Well, I don’t think it has mattered much.
Why Alcohol is Immune to Negative Data
Smoking has never surpassed 45% usage since the 1960s. It has only decreased since then.Speaking of the USA, alcohol is deeply cultural. The cultural significance of alcohol combined with the political and advertising power of beverage companies has effectively blinded the public to the full truth of alcohol. For example, right now, I would estimate that a majority of people see low-to-moderate drinking as neutral to health or even healthy. That’s not what the data shows.
We hear about things like antioxidants in red wine, but this only distracts from the whole truth of what alcohol is and does to our bodies. As for the aforementioned data, I’m going to link to a video by a neuroscientist that goes into great detail. This article will focus on my personal experience.
And let me be clear that I am NOT anti-alcohol. I’m not trying to convince anyone else to give it up. I don’t care if you drink or not. I’ve consumed plenty of alcohol in the past and may still drink it on occasion in the future (I have an upcoming trip to Vegas!). What I’m against is misinformation, and I’m pro-experimentation.
Why I Stopped Drinking
In short, I didn’t feel very good. I was an anxious mess. I was constantly bloated. My sleep quality was extremely poor. Plus, alcohol made me make poor decisions; I don’t mean life-ending poor decisions like drunk driving, just small-but-frequent poor decisions that shaped the entire trajectory of my life. Those are still a huge deal!
I was a moderate to heavy drinker. I had 10-20 drinks a week, and over 14 is considered “heavy drinking” by the NIAAA. When I stopped drinking, it wasn’t a grand plan to change. It was experimental, a curiosity-driven decision. I remembered how I felt the last time I stopped drinking and thought, “That was really good, I should try that again.”
A Timeline of Benefits I Experienced
Since I didn’t plan to stop drinking for a long time, I kept extending my streak because I wanted to. The benefits that kept rolling in and I wanted more.
First week: Increased clarity of mind. I could think clearly without that lingering haze alcohol gives you. This haze is something I and others love about alcohol. It kind of “muffles” your thoughts and lets you relax (while it lasts). But the day after drinking and longer term, you’re left with a mental fog that lacks pleasure.
Second week: Less bloating and no less diarrhea (sorry). I don’t think I tolerate alcohol very well, so constant drinking meant constant bloating. In the second week, I noticed a big improvement here.
Third week: Muscle and joint pain decreased. I’ve spent many thousands of dollars managing my back and neck pain. Massages, chiropractic care, massage chairs, rollers, massage guns. I have done everything. Apparently, alcohol was a major factor, because three weeks in, my back and neck issues went away. I think there are other factors at play here, too, like exercise and lifestyle. But that’s the thing about alcohol. It affects every aspect of your life, from your individual cells to your routines.
1 month: Easier sleep and dramatically reduced anxiety: I think I had some withdrawal insomnia initially. Once I broke through that, I found my sleep quality increased. But I was still oversleeping. Perhaps my brain was still adjusting. My general level of anxiety plummeted around this time. Alcohol increases baseline cortisol levels, so this wasn’t a surprise.
1.5 months: Normal digestion, sleep, and breathing. For something that sounds so plain, this feels incredible. And I was absolutely floored that it took 1.5 months to get here. People don’t talk enough about how long it can take to realize the benefits of sobriety.
It’s possible that alcohol gave me sleep apnea, which is insane. My Oura ring tracks my blood oxygen during sleep, and here’s what it was like when drinking regularly (even on days I didn’t drink). I’ll show you February 21 (drinking) and also April 16 (sober). Not all days were as bad as this one on February, but I would always have some blood oxygen variations.
Obviously, every person reacts differently to alcohol. But this is sobering to see, isn’t it? I’m 37 years old and in pretty good shape physically, and alcohol wrecked my nervous system to the point that I had breathing difficulties during sleep!
Ancillary benefits of Sobriety
The best part about quitting alcohol could be how it changes your lifestyle. I exercise a lot more, because who wants to drink AND exercise, and who wants to exercise with a hangover? When you quit drinking, your opportunities to exercise explode. And exercise improves nearly every bodily function.
I’m happier. When they say alcohol is a depressant, believe them. It makes you happy for those few hours, but really puts a dent in your mood for the rest of them.
I’m more excited about the future. I see more opportunities for health and wealth because I’m stronger in every way without alcohol. Simply put, I’m a more capable and durable person now than I was a couple months ago. I promise I’m not embellishing, the difference has been staggering.
The Bottom Line: Alcohol is a Poison
No, that’s not meant to shock anyone. It’s a simple fact. Alcohol is a poison that happens to be more fun than most poisons. All of my experiences match up with the fact that I was poisoning myself and stopped. It isn’t that I feel superhuman without booze, I just feel like my normal, healthy self again.
As I experienced these changes, I came across this video by Dr. Andrew Huberman. It really helped me see the full picture. Huberman is a neuroscientist, and he calmly and non-judgmentally lays out the many, many ways alcohol affects the brain, body, and human health. He gives you the hard data. After watching this, I was left wondering why nobody had told me this before. To warn you, it is two hours long, but if you intend to drink alcohol for decades, it’s worth it to take the time to understand how it actually affects you.
My personal experience is that I couldn’t understand how alcohol affected me until I went without it completely for a couple of months. And who knows, maybe there’s more for me to learn. But I do have that Vegas trip coming up shortly.
I haven’t decided if I’m going to drink or not in Vegas. But I do know this: whatever drinking routines I choose for Vegas are going to stay in Vegas. At home, I’m quite happy sober.
