Skipped alcohol for 31 days. Not a problem drinker — just curious what would change.
I had probably 4-7 drinks a week before October. Wine with dinner sometimes, a couple of beers on the weekend. Not heavy, not light, just normal. The kind of drinking that doesn't seem like it could be affecting anything.
Easier than I expected. The first Friday night was the worst — strong urge to crack a beer just because that's what Fridays were. I made tea instead, which sounds like a joke but worked.
Sleep changed first. I noticed I was waking up at 7am without an alarm, alert, instead of 7:30 groggy. Even one or two glasses of wine had apparently been messing with my deep sleep.
I lost about three pounds without changing anything else. Realized how many calories had been coming from a glass or two of wine a night.
Also — and this surprised me — I had more emotional bandwidth in the evenings. Conversations with my partner went deeper. I was more present during dinner.
Bored of feeling virtuous, honestly. Going to bars stopped being fun. Some social events felt off without the lubricant. The novelty had worn off and the trade-offs were real.
I didn't go back to where I was before. I drink maybe one or two nights a week now, never on weekdays. The experiment didn't make me give up alcohol forever, but it changed my default.
The thing I'd say to anyone considering: do it once. Not to quit forever. Just to see.