What Benefits Do You Get From Avoiding Alcohol?

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Even if you are only a casual drinker, alcohol can have as many bad effects as it can good ones. While there is nothing necessarily wrong with having a drink on very rare occasions, many people choose to quit entirely – or seek out rehab methods that can enable them to stop their drinking for good.

While it is common knowledge that alcohol is bad for you, not many people understand the negatives in any real detail. If you are not sure whether to keep your drinking steady or quit it entirely, here are some of the benefits of not drinking alcohol that might help you decide.

A Healthy Liver

You might not think about it, but your liver is a pretty amazing organ. It has several functions, including storing energy and metabolizing food and drugs. It is one of the hardest-working organs in the human body and can even regenerate itself if the situation is right.

But what your liver can’t do is repair itself while you are drinking. Drinking too much over a longer period can make your liver struggle to regenerate, which becomes a problem alongside alcoholic fatty liver disease and any other kinds of damage that it might suffer in the future.

Easier Weight Loss

Alcohol contains a lot of calories, which can be a huge issue for people who are trying to lose weight. Even if you do not drink every day, a single pint of beer can be 200 calories – which could be a tenth or more of your required daily calorie amount, depending on your lifestyle.

While drinking will not always lead to weight gain directly, many people do not realize how many calories it can offer alongside regular food. Alcohol does not necessarily make you feel full, so you might end up eating your usual amount on top of the beers themselves anyway.

Improved Mental Clarity

Aside from the fact that you are obviously not getting drunk, giving up alcohol also allows you to sharpen your mind and concentrate better. Long-term alcohol use can damage your mental acuity – and even if it does not cause any serious damage, it is still weakening your mind.

While quitting will make you feel physically better, it will also help with your memory and cognitive abilities, allowing you to think more clearly and focus more on what you need to do. This can make a big difference when studying, working, or dealing with a project.

Better Sleep

Alcohol can disrupt your sleeping patterns, meaning that you will usually get better sleep if you avoid it. The worse your sleeping patterns are, the harder it gets to be consistently well-rested.

While it is a depressant and not a stimulant, so you will not be kept up as you would with excessive caffeine, it can exhaust you in ways that make a regular sleeping routine much harder to maintain.

A Better Mood

Alcohol can also lead to mood swings and anxiety. Although it can make you feel more positive in the short term, you will find that your moods are generally less stable overall when you are drinking regularly.

Giving up alcohol will let you feel more even-tempered and emotionally balanced. This also helps reduce stress levels and boost your self-esteem if you are stuck in certain mindsets.

There are many more reasons that abstaining from alcohol can benefit you, whether you do it alone or as part of a rehab program. Looking up the benefits of not drinking alcohol for yourself can be an eye-opening example of how something so simple can impact you in so many ways.