An alcohol use disorder can have a serious impact on your life. It can ruin your relationships, tank your career, and damage your health. About 88,000 people die every year of alcohol-related causes. Getting help for your alcohol use disorder may be the single best way to improve your life. Recovering from addiction to drugs and/or alcohol is a long road full of challenges. Long-term goals and big-picture reasons for getting sober may take some time to materialize. However, there are still many benefits to sobriety that you will notice early on.
You Look Better
Alcohol affects your appearance more than you may realize. Heavy drinkers tend to put on excessive bloat and weight. Alcohol is loaded with empty calories. One can of beer has about 150 calories, a glass of wine has about 120 calories, and a shot of whisky contains at least 70 calories. While those sticking to just one drink may not have much to worry about, think about how quickly those calories can add up for a moderate or heavy drinker.
Choosing to quit drinking eliminates thousands of extra calories from your diet, assuming you don’t compensate by eating a large pizza every day. Most guys lose weight pretty quickly once they stop drinking, even if they aren’t trying to lose weight. Additionally, alcohol messes with your hormones, reducing your testosterone. Once your hormones are balanced, you lose fat and gain muscle faster.
You Sleep Better
Long-term drinkers might forget what it feels like to get a good night’s rest. Many people think alcohol helps them sleep better but it really only helps you fall asleep. The alcohol in your system is then metabolized and your brain chemistry pushes back against alcohol’s sedative effects, creating tension and anxiety in the body. Typically, this happens a few hours after going to bed. You may wake up feeling restless and sweaty. Research shows that drinking before bed actually results in more sleep disturbances, less deep sleep, and more impairment the following day. If all of that isn’t enough to sway you, there’s always the impending doom of being woken up by a hangover to curb your desire to drink before bed.
You Have More Money
Alcohol is one of the cheaper ones, if you exclude secondary costs like accidents, DUIs, missed work, and so on. Still, the cost of alcohol adds up, especially if you often drink at bars or clubs where the markup is high. Many people are surprised by how much money they have left in their pockets by the end of the week once they stop drinking.
Need Support?
Most people with alcohol use disorders will decide to stop drinking because of something big, like family, legal problems, or trouble at work. However, paying attention to the smaller, more immediate wins can help motivate you to stay sober. Recovery isn’t just about abstaining from drugs and alcohol; it’s about living a better life all around. At Tree House Recovery of Orange County, we help men become better versions of themselves so they can live lives free from addiction. Call us today at 855-202-2138 to learn more about our recovery programs.
