--- title: Here’s What Happens When you Give Up Drinking For New Year's description: A new study looks at what happens when you stay sober for one month canonical: https://time.com/4162629/new-years-resolution-drinking/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-31T14:00:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:41.550Z article:section: Health og:title: Here’s What Happens When you Give Up Drinking for New Year's og:description: A new study looks that the effects of "Dry January" og:url: https://time.com/4162629/new-years-resolution-drinking/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1fcfa58cda459d6/69887700196cf464cd039a33/alcohol.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5175 og:image:height: 2911 og:image:alt: 150415559 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here’s What Happens When you Give Up Drinking for New Year's twitter:description: A new study looks that the effects of "Dry January" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1fcfa58cda459d6/69887700196cf464cd039a33/alcohol.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here’s What Happens When You Give Up Drinking for New Year's > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=b96b4865-d084-488d-a092-56659579a3f1&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How to Actually Keep Your New Year's Resolutions This Time [Watch (HLS stream): How to Actually Keep Your New Year's Resolutions This Time](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rztNG85K.m3u8) (1:20)  _Published 2016-01-04. Let's be honest, not many New Year's resolutions make it past February. We're here to help you keep your promises to yourself._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Dec 31, 2015 2:00 PM UTC  people drinking beer, shot from overhead people drinking beer, shot from overhead Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Dec 31, 2015 2:00 PM UTC Taking a month off drinking is an increasingly common New Year’s resolution, though it remains unknown how successful people are at staying sober for a month, or what distinguishes people who can keep it up compared to those who can’t, according to a [new study](http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2015-57039-001/). Researchers of the new report, published in the journal _Health Psychology_, looked at 857 British men and women who pledged to partake in a “Dry January,” and stay sober for the month. The researchers wanted to better understand what makes a person successful at staying sober for 31 days, and how the month-long sobriety affects future drinking behavior. The men and women in the study filled out three questionnaires: one at the start, one a month later, and one six months later. Overall, 64% of the people completed the Dry January, with a pretty even split of men and women. The people who successfully completed the month were more likely to report at the beginning of the month that they consume fewer drinks, are less often drunk, and score lower on a Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) compared to other people participating. They were also more likely to have significantly higher drink refusal self-efficacy (DRSE) scores at baseline. In general, participating in Dry January was associated with significantly fewer drinking days per week, fewer drinks per drinking day, and a lower frequency in drunkenness six months later. Interestingly, the researchers noted that even people who did not finish the month experienced positive changes in behavior. In general, few of the men and women experienced rebound effects, the study authors note. Most of the people staying sober for the month reported reductions in their overall alcohol consumption. The study has limitations since the people involved voluntarily chose to participate in Dry January, and therefore may not be representative of the general public. Still, the researchers believe their findings add value. “Taken together, these findings suggest that abstinence challenges such as Dry January can lead to changes toward healthier drinking and health-enhancing beliefs about alcohol, and are unlikely to result in undesirable rebound effects,” they conclude. [_Read more: Here’s What Happens When You Drink Red Wine Every Night_](http://time.com/4070762/red-wine-resveratrol-diabetes/) ## Transcript You know how at the start of every new year, you're like, oh, I'm actually gonna do my new year's resolution this year. Yeah, me too. Except it rarely happens, aside from that time you signed up for a half marathon and realized you can't bail on a $ 200 entry fee. But maybe that's not you and you want to lose weight instead or be better at time management. Here are some tips on how to not completely fail after the first week of January. Pick a realistic goal. Maybe aim to lose 15 pounds instead of 30, baby steps. But if you wanna shoot for the bigger goal, trick yourself by setting mini goals. Instead of 30 pounds over six months, tell yourself you wanna lose 5 pounds each month. By the way, it works across the board. If you're trying to budget better in the new year set lenient limits first then challenge yourself to slowly live off less. Which leads us to our third tip. Use an app to keep track of your progress. Mint is one app for money management. If you're trying to lose weight, check out Nim or Fooducate. Aiming for better time management? Try Remember the Milk. Do with a friend. You know the emoji of dancing women with bunny ears? Do that in real life. Nothing says motivation like your bestie struggling alongside you. And finally, celebrate your progress, whether it's a cheat day, a glass or two of vino or a bubble bath, find a way to treat yourself for each solid week of progress you make. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4162629/new-years-resolution-drinking/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4162629/new-years-resolution-drinking/"},"headline":"Here’s What Happens When You Give Up Drinking for New Year's","datePublished":"2015-12-31T14:00:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:56:41.550Z","description":"A new study looks at the effects of \"Dry January\"","url":"https://time.com/4162629/new-years-resolution-drinking/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Alcohol","drinking"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1fcfa58cda459d6/69887700196cf464cd039a33/alcohol.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1fcfa58cda459d6/69887700196cf464cd039a33/alcohol.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"150415559","caption":"150415559","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4162629/new-years-resolution-drinking/","name":"Here’s What Happens When You Give Up Drinking for New Year's"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How to Actually Keep Your New Year's Resolutions This Time","description":"Let's be honest, not many New Year's resolutions make it past February. 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