According to statistics, a person with an average income can drink about 9.5 litres of alcohol in a year.
This set of people aren’t addicted to alcohol but they would usually spend time with friends and would occasionally indulge in drinking a few bottles of alcohol. – beer, spirits, etc.
Typically, they would take a break during weekdays because the only time they indulge in alcohol are usually weekends when they are chilling with friends.
Nonetheless, they might have a bottle of red wine or their special brand of vodka at home that they usually take sips from. To help them relax before bedtime maybe.
But, what do you think would happen to such a person if he or she decides to stop drinking for about four weeks? Do you suppose the body may react positively to 4 weeks of nonalcoholic? I suppose yes.
Let’s read on to find out.
First week
1. Increased appetite
In actual sense, when you continuously drink alcohol, you tend to eat more than the body needs. But when you stop drinking, you become careful with what you eat. It is advisable to substitute food with fruits and juice after you quit drinking.
2. Increase in the need for sweet foods
Sweet alcohol can increase your blood sugar levels which could automatically make you crave for more sugar. However, people react differently, and some people may experience a decrease in their sugar levels. This can be dangerous for people dealing with diabetes.
3. Insomnia
It may be hard to get quality sleep after you quit drinking and this may especially apply to people who take alcohol to get sleep faster. While taking alcohol to help you get to sleep may work for you, it also reduces your quality of sleep over time. So as you take time off from alcohol, you may experience difficulty getting the required amount of sleep and may even have nightmares.
4. Headaches
In some cases, headaches might occur in those quitting alcohol, and this is a clear indication that the body is detoxifying. This change may cause a rise in blood pressure and even affect your liver.
Second week
1. Liver recovers
The liver starts to recover in the second week. The liver starts to die when people drink too much alcohol, and this causes scarring in the liver. Nonetheless, recovery is possible. The longer and faster you stay away from alcohol the faster the liver recovers.
2. Skin change
Another clear indication that you are staying away from alcohol is the changes on your skin. Alcohol disrupts the flow of oxygen in the skin, and a result causes the skin to dry. This can lead to early wrinkles and pigment spots.
3. Improved dishes took
There is an increase in gastric acid when you consume alcohol on a daily. This means the stomach eats itself slowly and steadily due to the presence of the acid. This is why people eat more when they consume alcohol.
4. Antisocial
It becomes easy to want to hang out with friends and harder to turn down social invitations when you are experimenting with quitting alcohol. By the second week of quitting alcohol, it becomes difficult to honour such invitations. You simply lack the willpower.
Third week
1. Physical change
By this time, the obvious signs of drinking alcohol begin to fade. Facial swelling and dark circles around the eyes begin to wear off. This is possible because the urinary system now functions properly.
2. Better sleep
It becomes easier to wake up in the morning when you quit alcohol for three weeks. When a person is intoxicated, he or she skips the normal stages of sleep and doses off immediately.
But when the concentration of alcohol drops, sleeping becomes less deep, and people tend to wake up more often. The moment your system is clear of alcohol, sleeping becomes very natural, and you can equally wake up easily.
3. Healthier teeth
The production of saliva is decreased when alcohol is consistently consumed, and this affects the condition of the teeth. So when you quit drinking you reduce the risk of having cavities and this causes your teeth enamel stays stronger.
4. Restored senses
Alcohol not only kills pain and taste receptors but also affects the sense of smell. Quitting alcohol at this point helps to recover this senses.
Fourth week
1. Weight loss
When a person (who quits alcohol) has extra weight, the body mass reduces drastically. The numbers do differ, but on average, it is about 6 to 8 lbs/month. The longer you stay away from drinking alcohol, the easier it is to lose weight.
2. Healthy blood pressure
Alcohol causes an increase in blood pressure, and if this continues, you stand the risk of developing hypertension. People who don’t indulge in alcohol rarely have hypertensive related issues. When you take time away from alcohol, you reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
3. Clearer skin
At this stage, the skin becomes free of irritation and acne. This happens because the water balance in the body is normalised and it also improves blood circulation in the body. Facial colour becomes even, swelling disappears, and spots are very minimal or is completely clear.
4. Clearer mind
When the body system is free of alcohol, the mind becomes sharper, and working becomes efficient. Research has it that when a person drinks alcohol regularly, the brain becomes a little swollen and this causes millions of brain cells to die due to low supply of oxygen.
Although these changes are slow but they are irreversible. We don’t want your brain cells to die, do we?
Why not challenge yourself today? See if you can stay away from drinking alcohol and watch the changes your body goes through. If you are already in that path, do tell us how it’s working for you. Thank you.
