10 Amazing Benefits of 50 Days with No Alcohol

I have just completed 50 days with no alcohol and the benefits are stacking up. The benefits of these 50 days without alcohol are some of what you might expect, but also a bit of what you might not. In the spirit of ‘sharing is caring’ I have compiled a list of 10 of said benefits with you to celebrate making it to the 50 day mark.

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10 Benefits of 50 Days with No Alcohol:

1. No Hangovers

It goes without saying that no alcohol = no hangovers. If you never drink alcohol, you will never be hungover. Sometimes the most simple formulas can have the biggest impact. And it really is that simple.

2. Productivity

I cannot begin to explain to you how bloody productive I have been in these 50 days! It’s amazing how much easier it is to get things done when the hangover haze is lifted. I have producted more in the past 7 weeks than I did in the 7 months before them. Every day I’m crossing things off my To Do list with an accomplished and dramatic flick of my pen. Well, this would be true except my To Do list is digital. A metaphorical flicking of my pen will have to suffice.

Tasks that I’ve been putting off have been completed. I’m adding new tasks to the list with abandon, confident that they’ll actually be done and won’t sit there staring at me for weeks with puppy dog eyes. My To Do list has become my Ta Da list.

I’m an unstoppable productivity machine and I’m showing no signs of slowing down.

3. Mood

My moods were unpredictable whilst I was drinking. There, I said it. My family and anyone I’ve ever been romantically entwined with are almost certainly nodding along at this point. I was frequently irritable, short tempered, and prone to a bit of snappy snappy. Now that is not to say that I will never experience these things again – it’s a personality situ – but for the most part my mood is… stable.

To see me now, would be to see a serene figure in white robes gliding through her day, unflappable. I don’t wake up in a bad mood in the morning (not having half a bottle of wine the night before helps with that). Things are still annoying (personality situ) but I sort of let them flow past me now without reaction.

I haven’t taken a poll but I’d guess that I am a very pleasant person to be around these days.

READ MORE: 6 Things I Did to Improve My Mental Health (opens in new tab)

4. Smugness

A benefit of sobriety that you don’t hear about nearly enough, but that 50 days in I can confirm is true. Being sober makes you feel so bloody smug. It’s wonderful.

There is little better than skipping to Sunday brunch, fresh out of a gym class, before the hangover crowd has even considered crawling out of their sweaty beds. This feeling is only improved if you’re sat at said brunch and A Hungover is nearby, wearing sunglasses inside and turning more and more green before your eyes. Sip your latte and enjoy the smug.

Another great opportunity for smugness is when you get to say the words out loud “I’ve had no alcohol for 50 days now” in an actual conversation. The person you’re speaking to will definitely respond with: “Wow, and how do you feel?” and you get to say, “Smug as hell, darling.” I’m joking, just say you feel great / fantastic / amazing / fucking wonderful. But you’ll feel smug as hell, darling, and that’s what matters.

5. Health Benefits

It would be remiss to include a roundup of benefits of not drinking alcohol, without at least touching on the amazing things sobriety does for your health. Some of said benefits include, a reduced risk of cancer, improved liver function, improved brain function, and reduced anxiety and depression.

Read more about my mental health journey in this candid article (opens in a new tab).

Now, it may shock you to hear that I am not a medical doctor. I am actually not any kind of doctor. For this reason I don’t feel qualified to delve too specifically into the health benefits of sobriety (of which there are many), but I’ve here’s a link for you to take a read once you’re done here.

6. Physical Prowess

The combination of not being hungover, sleeping well, and having more energy, ensures that I am consistently getting to the gym, which means that I am actually seeing improvements in my performance and my fitness levels. Remember what I said about the simplest formulas? It applies here too.

7. The Option to Drive

This one does rely on also having access to a car that you’re allowed to drive. But once you’ve got that, then you’re sorted for benefit number 7. Not having to worry about how to get home from a social outing is magical. Gone are the nights of long cab lines in the cold, or the unwelcome news that Uber prices are surging again. You can just hop in the car and drive yourself right on home to bed. Time and money saved!

8. Saving Money

Which is the perfect segue into our next benefit. It’s almost like I planned it. Not drinking alcohol will make it startlingly clear to you how much money it costs to drink alcohol. We all know bars and restaurants add a whopping markup to alcohol, and yet we throw our hard earned money at them anyway. Take it, take it all!

I think we can all say we’ve gone out for dinner and ended up spending more on the accompanying bottle of wine than we did on the meal itself. Not to mention the pre-dinner cocktail, second bottle of wine at the bar next door, and then the 5 Jagerbombs at the club after that. Then we still have the cost of the taxi/Uber to get home, the midnight carb fest, the hangover Deliveroo order to bed the next morning, and the impulsive ASOS splurge to make you feel better whilst you’re dying in bed.

Even in 50 days with no alcohol I’ve already seen improvements to my bank accounts. And we all know that’s a very welcome benefit during this economic climate. Ooh, I managed to fit the term “economic climate” into a blog post. Painfully clever and well informed.

9. Creative Genius

Downright genius, I tell ya. I assume that alcohol was acting like a blocker to my creativity because since I stopped drinking, the creativity is positively pouring out of me.

I used to spend every evening drawing and/or writing when I was a kid. But I stopped as soon as I started drinking for fun instead. It’s like I’m reconnecting with my former self – my authentic self. I don’t mean to get all spiritual on you now, but it’s like I’m coming home.

A side of me that has been sepia toned is suddenly appearing in full, vibrant colour. I have so many ideas and I am so inspired to create again.

10. Being a Trendsetter

With more and more people turning their back on alcohol, quitting now means you’ll be ahead of the curve. You know how -not so many- decades ago people weren’t aware of how dangerous smoking was and they just smoked, well, everywhere? Well that same shift is happening with alcohol. It’s not nearly at the same level yet, of course, but every revolution has to start somewhere.

Mark my words – one day drinking excessive amounts of alcohol will be seen as trés uncool. Sobriety won’t just be for alcoholics and certain religious groups. It’ll be all the rage with the young, hip crowd. Does saying ‘hip’ automatically make me, not hip? Either way, being a trendsetter is way more brag-worthy than copying what everyone else is already doing.

If you’re just starting out on your sobriety journey and 50 days with no alcohol and its’ benefits seems out of reach – it isn’t. If I can do it, you absolutely can do it. Give it a go. Honestly, before you know it you’ll have had no alcohol for 50 days and be experiencing these benefits for yourself.

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Read more sobriety tips now:

• READ MORE: Sober Travel Tips: Surviving your first sober holiday or vacation
• READ MORE: Sober Date Ideas: 10 First Date Ideas You’ll Love
• READ MORE: Benefits of 60 Days Without Alcohol

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