Thirty-one days without drinking a single drop of alcohol. Like every year, January is the month for Dry January fans. The opportunity to take a break from their consumption and question their relationship with alcohol.
But a new challenge is making headlines at the start of the year: Damp January, which involves not stopping drinking completely, but only reducing your consumption. But can it really be called a challenge if you allow yourself to drink? Is there any point in temporarily reducing your consumption?
What is Damp January?
If Dry January means “dry January”, Damp January can be translated as “wet January”. This is a not too dry Dry January, where it is not a question of total abstinence, but of a reduction compared to one’s usual consumption of alcohol, in quantity, frequency, or both. .
By doing Damp January, you can enjoy a few drinks without missing the challenge. Everyone decides how they are going to live this month: it may be only drinking on special occasions, a birthday, a wedding, drinking fewer drinks than usual, or even spending several days in a row without drinking. Or a mix of all three. The goal is simply to drink less.
Is there any point in Damp January?
Among caregivers, this alternative divides. “Damp January is of no interest,” believes Dr. Laurent Karila, addict psychiatrist and author of the podcast Additionwhose last episode addresses alcohol dependence. The idea of Dry January is to take stock of your alcohol consumption, not just to reduce it. It’s about stopping it, without injunction, and seeing how you feel. From this perspective, Damp January does not have the virtue and impact of a temporary total cessation of consumption. I see it more as a trick of the alcohol lobby.”
Dr Dan Véléa, addiction psychiatrist, is less categorical. “Of course, it depends on the reduction that we are going to apply. Someone who drinks two bottles of wine a day and only reduces their consumption by one glass, the benefit would not be visible. On the other hand, for someone with excessive consumption, reducing and becoming aware of their relationship with alcohol can only be beneficial, he explains. In this way, the advantage of Dry January and Damp January is to raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol and to provide a hook for finding a solution: you can try Dry January, and if it is too hard, try your alternative. It shouldn’t be seen as a failure if we don’t stick to it.” Damp January can provide, continues Dr Dan Véléa, a “basis for action for the future. It’s like wanting to quit smoking: some can, others work in stages, and if we offer those the possibility, for example, of reducing their consumption by half, that’s already very good.”
Do Damp January and Dry January have common benefits?
For Dr Karila, reduced consumption and total abstinence cannot produce the same effects. “Physically, January without alcohol has concrete benefits on mood, morale, weight, sleep and general well-being. Morally, we also discover our ability to know how to say no, we find positive self-affirmation, and we tell ourselves that we can go back to the evening and be capable of not saying yes straight away to a drink. This stop is a springboard, which extends its benefits beyond January, sometimes over six months: once we have held on, we want to make the effort last. This triggers a virtuous reflex to take alcohol breaks more frequently during the year.”
But “a significant reduction in its consumption already makes it possible to normalize its blood tests and improve the condition of its liver,” contrasts Dr. Véléa. Several studies, including one published in The Lancet, demonstrate that it has beneficial effects on blood pressure, liver and mental health, and helps to reduce the risk of cancer And of cardiovascular diseases. So, “if people who drink excessively manage to reduce it, or delay their desire to drink even by an hour, that’s already a victory.”
A notable effort, but not enough for Dr Karila: “22% of French people have excessive alcohol consumption, that’s a lot. The recommendations from Public Health France are: no more than two drinks per day, not every day, and no more than ten drinks per week, and no more than four at a party. So the “Damp” is what you should do all year round! »