When it comes to alcohol recovery, the first year is the hardest.
Here’s the good news: there are so many health benefits of sobriety that you’ll start to feel better long before your first year.
What’s the trick to learning how to stay sober? Understanding the value of a sober living situation. In this article, we’ll break down four of the best health benefits of living a sober life so that you know what you can look forward to when you’re ready to go sober.
1. Healthier Skin
Excessive alcohol drinking causes dehydration, inflammation, and tougher skin. Not only does this cause greater health problems over time, but it makes your face look red, puffy, and saggy.
Fortunately, quitting alcohol immediately starts to restore your skin. You’ll notice a “healthy glow” on your skin as you begin to recover.
2. Healthier Body Weight
Alcohol impedes nutrient absorption, which leads to weight loss. However, this kind of weight loss isn’t healthy.
People who are struggling with alcohol-induced malnutrition don’t get the nutrients they need to stay healthy, and they don’t look or feel well. Long-term malnutrition leads to a whole host of health problems that will affect you for life.
Quitting alcohol is the first step to regaining a healthy weight. Don’t be intimidated when you see the scale needle start to move: it means that you’ll be feeling stronger, looking fitter, and staying healthier.
3. Stronger Mental Health
It’s no secret that alcohol contributes to mental health disorders including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Bipolar disorder
- Schizophrenia
Alcohol acts on your brain to make you more vulnerable to mental health flare-ups. However, alcoholism also affects your mental health in indirect ways: it keeps you cut off from friends and support people, makes it harder to live a healthy lifestyle, and undermines your stability.
When you start living a sober life, you take away a major contributor to mental illness. Plus, you give yourself a chance to build a life that supports good mental health.
4. Decreased Cancer Risk
Did you know that alcohol increases your risk of cancer, especially when you drink to excess?
Quitting alcohol lowers your risk of serious cancers, including cancers of the:
- Liver
- Breast
- Larynx
- Mouth
- Colon and rectum
The more you drink, the higher your risk of these cancers. The good news: lowering your cancer risk is just one of the benefits of being sober.
You Deserve the Benefits of Sobriety
Are you struggling with the negative health effects of alcoholism? You don’t have to keep struggling. You deserve to live a healthy life that lets you reach your full potential.
If you’re ready to take advantage of sobriety benefits, or are wondering how to get sober, it’s time to start enjoying the health benefits of sobriety. Find a recovery center near you or keep reading our blog for more ways to stay healthy and live well.
