Dry(ISH) January and Beyond: Sunnyside Helps Build Lasting 'Mindful' Drinking Habits

The popularity of alcohol resets in January has been growing drastically over the past few years. Campaigns like Alcohol Change UK’s Dry January® saw a massive increase this year with 19% of adults participating in some form or another. If that rate holds in the US (and we believe it did), that accounts for nearly 40,000,000 people.
However, in the past couple of years, a “damp” approach to the common January alcohol reset has become significantly more popular, empowering participants to focus on mindfulness and moderation, not sobriety. Until now, there has been no significant research that can point to the positive benefits of a partially-dry, or “Dry(ish)” January.
Sunnyside created the Dry(ish) January Challenge to allow participants to choose their own plan (fully dry or reduced alcohol consumption) and get tools, education, community, and coaching support throughout the month to improve their odds of success.
The benefits were huge for both groups, far outweighing those who did not opt in, though those who chose to go fully dry had the most success in reducing alcohol consumption.
Participants in the Sunnyside Dry(ish) January Challenge felt overwhelmingly positive about the experience, whether or not they exactly stuck to their goals, indicating that simply participating in a challenge has big benefits. Just trying to moderate or go dry is enough to see big results.
To better understand which benefits were experienced throughout the Dry(ish) January experience, participants were asked to select on a scale of 1 to 5 how strongly they agreed with the benefits listed. Only selections of either a 4 or 5 on the scale were taken into consideration as an improvement in the following table:
The survey found that on average, regardless of challenge type selected:
83% experienced fewer binge drinking days
80% felt a sense of accomplishment
78% gained more control over their drinking
73% saved money
64% experienced more energy and focus
63% slept better
62% experienced better overall health
60% improved their mental health
59% had a better mood overall
56% relied on alcohol less in social settings
54% improved their productivity
46% saw improved fitness habits
43% improved their eating habits and diet
35% experienced improved family and relationship dynamics
31% noticed better skin
29% lost weight
Choose a more mindful approach to life at www.sunnyside.co
Learn more about Dry(ish) January and the impact here: www.sunnyside.co/blog/dryish-...