How giving up alcohol affects a person: 7 things that happen to the body if you don't drink for just one week

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Many of us like to relieve stress after a hard week of work with a couple of glasses of wine or any other “healing” drink. And on holidays and when meeting friends, as they say, “God himself commanded” to drink – so it turns out that, as a rule, the average resident of our country drinks alcohol once or twice a week. Of course, this does not make a person an alcoholic – but alcohol nevertheless has a certain effect on the body. Scientists advise conducting an interesting experiment: give up strong drinks for just one week, seven short days – and you will be surprised at what will happen to your body.

The opportunity to feel more rested

You are probably familiar with the state of “brokenness” in the morning, when your head hurts, all your bones ache, and you don’t feel like getting out of bed at all – let alone going to work. “And I only missed a couple of glasses yesterday!” – many are surprised, wondering why such a feeling arose.

It's simple. Addiction specialist Aaron Sternlicht notes that alcohol is a toxin. Regardless of how much alcohol you drink, this toxin will affect absolutely every part of your body. And therefore, your head will hurt, and your sleep will not be as good as it could be, and you will not feel like you slept at all – even if you did it for the recommended eight hours. Alcohol makes it possible to relax, but at the same time it prevents you from entering the phase of the so-called deep, long sleep – it is in it that a person truly rests. After using the “living moisture” you will be in the REM sleep phase all the time – unfortunately, it is impossible to sleep through it – and therefore in the morning you will feel restless and broken. In addition, as a rule, evening gatherings with alcohol often turn into nighttime ones – that is, the number of hours that you could spend on healthy sleep is reduced, and instead of eight, for example, you sleep only five hours. Getting up in the morning in such a case is also quite problematic. Try not to drink alcohol for just a week – and you will see how much better you feel in the morning.

Your mood will improve

Seven days without alcohol is, of course, a short period. But even in such a short-term perspective, you will be able to note how much better your mood has become. The thing is, as drug experts explain, that alcohol is a depressant. Accordingly, when drinking alcoholic beverages, it is not at all uncommon to have a depressed, sad mood, and depressive thoughts (of course, we are talking about the time after drinking alcohol – during the period when you are, so to speak, “in the process”, your mood will most likely be rosy).

Alcohol slows down the processes that occur in your brain; at the same time, when you drink alcohol, you are unable to control your emotions – which also affects the lack of a good mood. In such a state, as a rule, everything annoys you – work, wife/husband, children, cat and dog… Having tried not to drink alcohol for just a week, you will see that your job is, in general, not the worst, and the other half is good, and the children are wonderful. Well, a cat and a dog – and completely out of competition!

Lack of a strong feeling of hunger

You must have noticed that food flies off the table much faster and in larger quantities when you drink alcohol. It seems like you didn’t really want to eat, but for some reason, after taking a couple of sips of beer or wine, that potato, that piece of chicken, and that sandwich seemed very appetizing. And then you look sadly at the numbers on the scales, sighing – when did you manage to get so well?

Nutritionists note that alcoholic beverages displace nutrients from our body, which are so necessary for normal metabolism and tissue growth. That is why when drinking alcohol, you feel so hungry – you do not have time to get full, alcohol “drives out” nutrients from your body, interrupting the functioning processes that have already begun, and you are forced to absorb more and more food.

Clinically confirmed

Scientists also say that studies have been conducted on this topic many times. In this light, one of them is very interesting – its results were published in the journal Nature Communications.

An experiment conducted on rats showed that alcohol caused a hunger response in the rodents' brains. According to the researchers, exactly the same thing happens to humans. From this, we can draw only one conclusion – drink less alcohol, and you will eat less. You will have enough nutrients, and you will definitely not gain excess weight.

Skin looks great

It is not only women who are interested in looking good. Dull complexion, sagging skin, and “wrinkles” do not adorn anyone – neither man nor woman. Everyone needs to take care of their skin, and a great way to do this is to eliminate the presence of strong drinks in the body. You may have noticed (and if not, pay attention specifically) that when you wake up in the morning after “drinking” the day before, in the mirror you will see a person with a red and swollen face.

Alcohol is to blame for everything – it is an excellent diuretic (remember how often you have to go to the toilet after drinking it), and diuretics dry out the skin. This is where problems with its appearance begin. A week of abstinence – and you will notice that the improvement process is underway.

More energy

And we're back to feeling broken after drinking alcoholic beverages. In such a state, you are unlikely to want to go and run cross-country, for example. Or hang on the horizontal bar. Meanwhile, remember! – waking up in the morning after a day when you didn't drink, you may well feel so invigorated and full of strength and energy that you can run a hundred meters, and pump up your abs, and conquer Everest.

Alcohol dehydrates – we have already mentioned this. And our body needs water like air – without water our body is unable to do practically anything. You can’t even think about having energy in the absence of water. That is why dehydration exhausts you, takes away all your strength. Alcohol reduces energy, concentration, takes away even muscle strength – it happens that dumbbells that seemed light yesterday are hard to lift today. You hardly like being a “boiled sausage”, broken in all senses and relationships. And therefore it is worth thinking about this and giving up alcohol – at least on the eve of those days when you know for sure that you should be in excellent physical and mental shape.

No hangover

Many people believe that a headache is a symptom of a hangover. Of course, yes – but it is not the only one. Its signs also include mild pain or cramps in the stomach, an itchy throat, fatigue, and sensitivity to light.

A hangover is a much more subtle thing than many people think, experts say, and it can manifest itself in completely different ways. However, just a week after you abstain from alcohol, you may notice that you no longer experience any of the above symptoms.

Worsening of well-being

Yes, this is possible – but only if you drink alcohol every day and every other day. Your body is so used to the constant presence of alcohol inside you that, without detecting it one fine day, it begins to “break down”.

This is called withdrawal syndrome, and is accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, severe headache, sweating, anxiety, depression, and a feeling of confusion. Therefore, it is very important: if you have been drinking alcohol constantly for a long time and have decided to give up this bad habit, do not do it yourself – seek help from a professional.