Maybe your hangovers are getting worse, or you can’t party like how you did back in college or maybe the beer belly is troubling you. There can be numerous reasons to quit alcohol and the sooner one starts, the better it is. Here are 10 things that will happen to your body when you stop drinking.
#1. Detox- the first 48 hours
48 hours after your last drink, your body is in a detox mode and your liver is working overtime. Your body is trying to clear the alcohol from your bloodstream and prevent alcohol poisoning. Depending on how much you drank, it may seem like a hangover and be accompanied with shakiness, nausea, sweating and insomnia.
#2. Withdrawal
If you are a heavy drinker, this phase is going to be tough. In no time, you will be craving alcohol. Your body has already created an equilibrium to adjust that alcohol which is now disrupted, so it will obviously crave a drink. For some people, withdrawal symptoms maybe accompanied by hallucinations, dizziness, shaking and irregular heart rate.
#3. You will sleep better
Don’t confuse passing out after drinking with a good sleep. In a normal sleep, your brain’s activity is in delta waves but when you sleep drunk, your brain produces alpha waves which are seen when one is awake but resting. So even if alcohol is helping you sleep faster, the quality of sleep worsens, leaving you more tired and fatigued the next day.
#4. Gain and rebuild muscle
As per a study done on mice, it was proved that alcohol impairs the synthesis of protein and thus hampers the muscle building. So if you are looking to build your body, better quit alcohol.
#5. Weight loss
One of the things you will notice is that you will begin to lose weight. This is because alcohol is made of empty calories i.e. they don’t have any nutritional value unlike other calories. Moreover, since you will not be snacking on other carbs that go with alcohol, you will be saving yourself a lot of calories.
#6. Reduce risk of heart disease
Alcohol itself doesn’t contain any cholesterol but it can increase your levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL). Though people who do not drink very often have good cholesterol, binge drinkers are prone to a high LDL. However, if you can quit alcohol and adopt a heart-healthy eating plan, you are less prone to cardiovascular diseases.
#7. Clear complexion
Alcohol is a diuretic which makes one urinate more leading to lower water retention in the body. The result is a parched skin. When you give up alcohol, your skin will be more hydrated and able to retain that moisture thereby looking better.
#8. You will eat less at dinner
A study published in American Journal of Nutrition suggest that alcohol is one of the biggest reasons people overeat. This is because it heightens our senses so people are more sensitive to the smell of food which makes them eat more.
#9. sugar cravings
Eating something sweet releases dopamine in your brain which activates the reward region. Alcohol does pretty much the same thing. So when you give it up, chances are your sugar cravings will increase.
#10. Save Money
Of course you will be saving a lot of money in the process! Imagine how much your usual drink costs and then multiply it how many days you drink. The results may surprise you.