5 Reasons Why It's Easier to Take a Break from Alcohol Vs Drink Less

We've all been there. You drink too much and wake up the next day thinking, “I can’t keep doing this.” You have a headache. You feel ashamed and like you’re always letting yourself down. The first thing most people do when they want to change their relationship with alcohol is try to drink less. I literally tried to drink less for seven years before taking a break.

Trying to drink less is hard. Taking a break from alcohol is a lot easier. In this blog, I’ll cover five reasons why taking a break from alcohol is easier than drinking less and share the science behind it so you can make lasting habit change.

1. YOU’RE IN CONTROL

The first reason why it's easier to take a break from alcohol versus just trying to drink less is that you’re in control. When you take a break from alcohol, whether you commit to 22, 30, or 100 days—100 days is amazing!—you make the commitment that you will not drink no matter what.

When you're just trying to drink less, you're not actually taking a break from alcohol. If something comes up, like a networking event, party, or get-together with friends, people might expect you to drink like you normally do. If you’re trying to drink less, you can’t just easily say I’m taking a break from alcohol. Without a firm commitment—even on the nights you don’t want to drink—you may be coaxed into drinking. When you take a break from alcohol, you commit to not drinking no matter what for 30 days. You make the decision not to drink no matter what someone says.

2. You’re Breaking The Habit

The second reason is that our brains respond to alcohol a certain way. To break the habit of drinking, you need to take a break from alcohol. When you just drink less, your neurochemistry doesn’t change.

Think about it this way. Most people have about one drink an hour. But if you're somewhere for four hours, nursing one drink the whole time can be incredibly uncomfortable. When you have a drink, the normal response is to want more alcohol. Alcohol releases a spike of dopamine into our brains but only for 20 minutes—then you crash. To avoid that crash, your brain responds telling you to have another drink. On top of that, drinking slows down your neocortex and that affects your decision-making. Even after one drink, you’re less capable of critical thinking. You’re much less likely to stand by your decision not to drink. For all these reasons, most people have more than one drink when they're drinking. It’s really, really common—and yet we're made to feel like there’s something wrong with us.

Here’s the thing: not drinking is hard. For most people, the first week or two weeks not drinking may be different or complicated. After that, the habit starts getting rooted out of your brain. Our habits are laid down because we do them over and over and over again. When you disrupt that habit, you start to teach your brain a new pattern, and it starts to slowly crumble the old pattern and your old neural pathways. After one or two months, you've almost completely eradicated that habit. It's no longer something subconscious for you anymore.

3. Every Day is a Win

The third reason why it's so much easier to take a break from alcohol is that every day is a win. When you take a break from alcohol every day is a win and that confidence stacks up.

When I was trying to drink less, maybe Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were wins for me. Then I’d blow it on Saturday, and it felt like I was starting all over again. I was back at the beginning.

When you commit to 30, 60, or 90 days, every day builds up your confidence. You have one day, then three, then five. You feel amazing. Every day that passes builds on that. Plus, you have more energy. You sleep better. You’re literally going to feel like Superwoman.

The first time I got to three or four weekends without alcohol, I felt really, really proud of myself. I started to feel like, if I can do this, what else can I do?

4. Your Neurochemistry Returns To Normal

Another reason a break from alcohol is easier and better for you is that alcohol introduces the stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline, and dynorphin into your body. Every time you drink these hormones flood your system—even if you only drink once per week.

When you drink less, alcohol continues to negatively affect your neurochemistry. Drinking still releases harmful neurochemicals into your brain so you always feel on edge, even if you're drinking less than you did before. On top of that, alcohol lowers your receptivity to good hormones, like dopamine, serotonin, and GABA so you never experience true, unadulterated happiness or joy.

When you take a break from alcohol, your brain and neurochemistry start to rebalance and return to a more natural state. Good neurotransmitters go up, and the bad neurotransmitters go down. You get a surge of positive feelings and emotions because your brain is able to rebalance. That just doesn't happen when you drink less.

5. You Learn Healthy Coping Mechanisms

The fifth reason why it's so much easier to take a break from alcohol versus just drinking less is you discover new ways to cope—to relax and to have fun.

When you take a break from alcohol, you're forced to be creative, learn new ways to relax, learn new ways to soothe yourself, and learn new ways to have fun. When you just are trying to drink less, you don’t learn any of that stuff.

You never train yourself to do something completely new with your life. Taking a break from alcohol forces you out of your comfort zone which is where everything you want in life lives. It forces you to find the things that make you happy, relax you, and soothe you.

The bottom line: drinking less is hard. Drinking less takes a lot more work and you don’t get to enjoy the benefits of taking a break from alcohol. So why not commit to 30, 60, or 90 days alcohol-free if you haven’t tried it before?

In my group coaching program, Become Euphoric, you learn the tools you need to have your best alcohol-free month ever. We’ll go over powerful mindset shifts that will change the way you look at alcohol so you never feel deprived. I’ll teach you how to socialize without alcohol and how to truly relax and create a new sense of fun. Plus, you’ll get the support of a community of health-conscious and growth-minded women just like you. I highly encourage you to like sign up. I’d love to see you there!