Honestly, this is a mistake. In a week, you will encounter many of the situations in which you’d normally drink. So you can use your 7 days without alcohol to notice your triggers for drinking. Low alcohol and alcohol-free drinks can be a great way of cutting down on the amount you of drink at home or pacing yourself on a night out, helping to avoid the short-term effects of drinking too much. And some people find they can be a good way of being supportive. Our recent research found around one in six parents (16%) drank alcohol-free or low alcohol products to support their partner while they were pregnant. 7 But if you’re ready to dive in, here’s what to expect if you have an alcohol-free week. Physical changes in 7 days without alcohol

So the first 3 or 4 days without drinking might be pretty uncomfortable. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms vary, but symptoms will typically appear about six to twelve hours after your last drink. And they will tend to be worst after day 2 or 3. Milder withdrawal symptoms include sweating, shakes, headaches, and nausea, and you might have problems eating or sleeping. You may also feel anxious, irritable or agitated. More and more people are cutting down by using alcohol-free and low alcohol drinks. In fact, figures from 2021 show one in five UK adults used alcohol-free drinks as a way of moderating their alcohol consumption. 3 However, if you think you might be dependent on alcohol, you should not stop drinking suddenly. If you are worried about alcohol withdrawal symptoms, it’s safest to cut down gradually over time and talk to your doctor about stopping drinking safely. If you take this approach, you can use your alcohol-free week to notice when it’s easy not to drink and when it feels hard. How does not drinking affect your relationships, your moods and your routine?Many people find that their sleep improves after 7 days without alcohol. Alcohol can send you to sleep, but it wakes you up early. So after a week without booze, you may find yourself sleeping more deeply and dreaming more.

These days, there are more, better tasting, low alcohol drinks to choose from than ever before. Drinkaware research has found regular drinkers of low alcohol products thought the taste had improved over recent years. Negative perceptions of taste were more common amongst people who hadn’t tried them, with many people pleasantly surprised with the taste when they did. 4

Time away from drinking can be the starting point for changing your drinking for good, whether you are thinking about cutting down or stopping completely. Even if you plan to moderate your alcohol consumption in the longer term, taking regular breaks from drinking is good for you. And the longer the break, the better you will feel. After a week without alcohol, you may find that you have a lot more energy. After the sluggishness and discomfort at the beginning of the week, suddenly, you wake up full of beans. You may notice your face is less puffy too, and your eyes might seem brighter. Many people who drink low alcohol and alcohol-free, choose them as a practical choice – for example when they need to drive in the morning, or simply because they have a lot on the next day. 6