There is nothing wrong with drinking alcohol in moderation. However, excessive drinking can cause serious problems in your life. As of right now, alcohol is the number one abused drug in the United States. If you’re one of the many Americans struggling with alcohol consumption, know that your life can get better when you stop drinking, and here are some ways that is true.
You’ll be safer
Drinking alcohol in excess puts you at risk for many dangerous situations. For example, 800 people are injured in a car crash as a result of drunk driving every day. While you can’t lower the risk of being hit by someone who has been drinking, you will lower your risk of you yourself causing an accident. If you’re not drinking, you can’t drive drunk.
You’ll lose weight
It’s no secret that alcohol adds a lot of extra sugars, calories, and carbohydrates to your diet. In fact, alcohol has double the caloric content than what most proteins and carbs have. Cutting these out can seriously help you lose weight. You might even be carrying an extra 10 pounds because of excessive alcohol consumption. According to Ashwood Recovery, you can lose up to 20 pounds in your first three months of sobriety, even if you change nothing else about your diet.
You’ll be better at work
Even though you weren’t drinking alcohol at work, it was still affecting your performance. In fact, your concentration will increase by 18% after you stop drinking alcohol, and your work performance will increase by 17% over the course of a month. Sobering up will also change the way your coworkers see you. People decide on your trustworthiness in a tenth of a second, and whether you realize it or not, your coworkers can tell when you are hungover. If they know you have a drinking problem, they probably won’t think you’re very trustworthy. When you stop drinking, though, you might even be assigned more responsibilities and move up at work because your boss sees you as more trustworthy and hardworking.
Your cancer risk will decrease
Alcohol consumption is one of the most common risk factors listed under a variety of different types of cancers. It affects the antibodies in your body that attack tumor cells. Alcohol consumption causes an estimated 3.5% of American cancer deaths, or 20,000 cancer-related deaths every year.
You’ll sleep better
You may think that alcohol helps put you to sleep, but it actually doesn’t result in restful sleep. According to Positive Health and Wellness, your sleep will improve by 10% by not drinking alcohol for a month. Your wakefulness in the morning will also improve by 9.5%. You’ll wake up feeling better and be able to do more things when you stop drinking alcohol. You won’t even need to choke down six cups of coffee before you’re able to function.
There is nothing wrong with having a few drinks now and then. Social drinking can be perfectly healthy. However, when you start drinking to excess, it can ruin your life. Whether you want to lose weight or get that next promotion at work, try putting down the bottle and see how your life might just turn around.
