Coming from our Anglo-Saxon friends, Dry January is attracting more and more French people. If we are to believe an IFOP survey carried out on request by Freixenet Gratien, the French subsidiary of the global sparkling wine producer Henkell Freixenet, at the end of 2024, one in four French people planned to spend the entire month of January without drinking alcohol. If you are one of them, you may have been having trouble sleeping for a week. Indeed, “you may have problems falling and staying asleep” the first week after giving up alcohol, warn Dr Tim Mercer, a British general practitioner, on his TikTok account. However, it is not a question of breaking abstinence, quite the contrary! “By eliminating alcohol, many people see improved sleep quality and deeper rest, but it’s important to recognize that this won’t fix your sleep immediately”he declares. If you’re sticking to the Dry throughout January, here are the phases you can expect to go through when it comes to sleep…
1/ L’adaptation
During your first week of sobriety, your body will be in « phase d’adaptation ». The latter could result in sleep disorders because “your body no longer depends on the sedative effect of alcohol”warns Dr. Mercer. Because if alcohol promotes falling asleep due to its relaxing effect, it modifies the architecture of sleep with an increase in nocturnal awakenings, aggravating the difficulty in falling back to sleep, recalls the Morphée network, sleep specialist on son site. In addition, by relaxing the muscles of the pharynx, alcohol promotes sleep apnea (+25%), worsening fatigue problems. Because a bad night means drowsiness, which tends to increase naps during the day and then lead to insomnia.
But if you feel even more tired the first week of stopping alcohol than when you were drinking in the evening, hold on, these symptoms should disappear after a few days. In the meantime, do not hesitate to turn to “foods rich in magnesium, nuts, seeds and avocados, as well as complex carbohydrates, such as brown rice or oats”, to maintain a certain energy level, recommends Dr. Mercer.
2/ More intense dreams
In the second week, get ready for colorful nighttime adventures. We are talking about dreams here. As sleep begins to properly regulate your sleep rhythm and your circadian cycle, these may be more numerous and richer. Despite everything, you should wake up more rested than before, the sleep having been more restorative. If you still have to wait to fall asleep, Mercer encourages you to eat more “foods rich in tryptophan, such as turkey, bananas or pumpkin seeds” to increase the production of melatonin and herbal teas such as chamomile or valerian root.
3/ Cruising speed
“During the third week, your body has gotten used to the absence of alcohol and it begins to sleep normally again and recover its normal energy level without inflammation and high cholesterol, without irregularities in sugar levels,” explains the expert. From there, you should feel in a better mood. If you used to suffer from rapid mood swings and get easily anxious, Dry will only help you. Because as a reminder, alcohol is depressogenic and anxiety-provoking.
Because alcohol “disrupts the balance of neurotransmitters and chemical messengers in the brain”, explained Lisa Gunn, head of mental health prevention at Nuffield Health to the British edition of Huffington Post in September. The substance interferes with your response “fight or flight”or the way you naturally react to danger. Additionally, alcohol affects GABA, a chemical in the brain known for its relaxing effect. In small amounts, it calms the nervous activity associated with reduced anxiety and inhibits the neurotransmitter glutamate, further promoting relaxation. But if consumed too much, it can on the contrary lead to feelings of panic.
4/ Time for rewards
During the fourth week, you will have achieved many gains: you will have lost weight, regained control of your emotions, your liver and blood pressure will be in much better condition and you will finally be rested thanks to long periods of sleep deep and uninterrupted.
As February approaches, if you decide to start drinking again, do so in moderation, recommends Dr. Mercer. “If you choose to moderate your alcohol consumption in the future, you can maintain these improvements in sleep quality and overall health by making them a lasting part of your lifestyle. »
Source: www.topsante.com
