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What Happens When You Stop Consuming Alcohol

The molecule ethanol is what makes you feel drunk. It does this by binding to receptors in your brain. Most notably ethanol binds to glutamate neurotransmitters, which in turn causes the brain to respond slower to stimuli. Along with glutamate neurotransmitters there are several other receptors that ethanol binds with that slows brain function. The result of these inhibited receptors is what we call drunkenness. The reversal of this process can take a while, and the hangover that ensues after a heavy night of drinking is a mix of your body trying to get rid of the ethanol and other harmful molecules, along with dehydration. Unfortunately, if enough ethanol builds up in your system, it can kill you. To be clear, most doctors and scientists agree that occasionally drinking alcohol poses very minimal health risks. In fact, consuming alcohol in moderation may have some health benefits. However, health problems arise when overconsumption occurs.

Recovery timeline from alcoholඞ

  1. Seconds after - you stop drinking, your liver slowly filters out the toxins and sugars found in the alcohol.

  2. An hour - your body has filtered your blood several times and metabolized the drinks you’ve had and your body starts to feel tired due to the high amount of energy it uses to remove the alcohol from your blood. The time it takes your body to break down the alcohol directly correlates to the amount consumed.

  3. Six hours - time for your body to completely break down all the ethanol in your system and bring the sugar, water, and other nutrient levels back to normal, the lingering effects of drunkenness will persist. After you’ve had your last sip of alcohol your body needs more rest than usual to recover from your attempts to poison it. Unfortunately, until you get past this stage, it is difficult to have a good night’s sleep. In fact, recent research suggests that alcohol actually increases alpha wave patterns in the brain, which are only supposed to be present while you’re awake. This implies that alcohol tricks the brain into thinking the body is awake when it is really trying to sleep.

  4. 6 to 12 hours - your body physically starts to change for the better. For one thing, alcohol has been shown to weaken your immune system. This may leave you susceptible to viruses and bacteria that are present at bars and parties.

  5. 24 hours - your immune system returns to normal.

  6. 3 to 5 days - you may find that your blood pressure begins to drop and you will overall feel less stressed. Doctors often recommend that people with high blood pressure reduce the amount of alcohol they consume, so even if this is not your goal, less than a week after you stop drinking your body will be grateful for the much needed break. You might also notice your appetite begins to decrease about a week after you stop consuming alcohol. This is one of the reasons that people tend to lose weight when they quit drinking. The other reason is that on average each drink you’re consuming contains a couple of hundred calories. And since the sugars in alcohol don't break down in your body very well, much of it gets stored as fat. If you can give up drinking for an entire week you may also find your skin looks and feels better. This is because your body is now more hydrated. Not only does alcohol make you pee more often, but it also decreases your antidiuretic hormone levels, which play a role in allowing your body to reabsorb water.

  7. 7 days - hormone levels are back to normal and your body is retaining more water. This is good not only for your skin but for your body overall.

  8. 2 weeks - without alcohol you may find your cognitive abilities start to improve and without the pressure of filtering alcohol, your kidneys will begin to repair themselves. This is because the brain, like many parts of your body, is resilient. The damage done to your neural pathway by the ethanol can be reversed. You will never regain memories from when you blacked out while drinking or recover thoughts that were obliterated from overconsumption of alcohol, but many of your neural connections will heal themselves over the coming weeks and months. Like the liver, the kidneys filter out toxins. They are not quite as affected by alcohol as the liver is, but overconsumption can definitely cause damage over time. After a couple of weeks of no drinking, the kidneys will heal enough to maintain proper fluid levels, waste excretion, and hormone balances.

  9. 3 weeks to a month - the liver will repair itself and tissue will start to regenerate fully. The organ that takes the brunt of the damage when you drink is the liver. It is a vital structure and without it, you can’t survive. Without having to worry about alcohol, your liver can focus on breaking down other toxins that are produced by the body, which overall will make you feel healthier.

  10. 1 to 2 months - your liver will be working at full power again. Just reducing the amount of alcohol you consume on a weekly basis can be beneficial for your liver. Too much drinking can also damage your heart and increase your chances of having a heart attack or a stroke. Around two months after you stop drinking your heart will have repaired most of the damage caused by overconsumption of alcohol.

  11. More than 2 months - your body may feel a better in a multitude of ways due to a combination of less stress and allowing your organs to repair themselves. Interestingly, stress has very similar effects on the body as alcohol does. It can increase blood pressure, cause heart problems, negatively affect your skin, and cause depression. One of the most surprising changes to your body after you stop drinking happens without you even feeling anything. The research suggests that people who consume large amounts of alcohol are at higher risk for certain types of cancer, which makes sense when you think about it. Since your body technically sees alcohol as a toxin, and your liver is responsible for removing that toxin, it is no surprise that people who are heavy drinkers have a high risk of developing liver cancer. This means that once you stop drinking, you are actually lowering the chances of your body developing cancer.

Sourcesඞ

  • https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/ss/slideshow-quit-alcohol-effects
  • https://www.healthline.com/health-news/what-happens-to-your-body-when-you-quit-alcohol-for-30-days
  • https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19532341/what-happens-when-you-stop-drinking-alcohol/
  • https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/alcohol-use/news/news/2020/04/alcohol-does-not-protect-against-covid-19-access-should-be-restricted-during-lockdown#:~:text=Alcohol%20consumption%20is%20associated%20with,COVID%2D19%20pandemic.
  • https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/drugs-alcohol/how-alcohol-makes-drunk.htm
  • https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-alcohol-affects-your-kidney-health/