Do dry challenges work?

You have probably heard of Dry July and Ocsober. These and other one-month alcohol abstinence campaigns are followed by many people worldwide. But do dry challenges work?

Campaigns such as Dry July don’t necessarily aim at people quitting alcohol forever but perhaps think about their drinking habits.

Most of the alcohol campaigns last for a month, exist in multiple countries, and include Dry January, Febfast, Dry July and Ocsober. Some of these may sound familiar to you. These campaigns come with accountability through social media and sometimes fundraising.

This article is based on a study published in the Harm Reduction Journal, which analysed 13 sources which included studies and campaign reports covering Dry January, Febfast and Dry July (1).

To assess if dry challenges do work, we need to consider what is the objective of the campaign and how the results are measured. For example, campaigns can aim at people giving up alcohol for the duration of the initiative, to make people quit alcohol for good, to help people improve their health, and/or to raise funds for a good cause. Results can be measured objectively (e.g. how many people complete the challenge) or subjectively (e.g. how healthy do participants feel after the challenge compared to before).

Who goes dry for a month?

Age: the bulk of the participants seemed to be in the 25-35 year old bracket
Gender: most participants were female
Occupation/education: most participants had a job, had completed higher education, and earned a higher income

How many people finish dry challenges?

61-64% of people who registered to participate in Dry January finished the challenge
30.2% of those who did Dry January without having registered finished the challenge

Who finishes dry challenges?

The people who were able to finish dry challenges:

had fewer drinks per sitting
got drunk less frequently
had higher social score
had higher emotional score
had greater mental wellbeing
had higher general self-efficacy score at baseline
read all the supportive emails

The people who were not able to finish dry challenges were heavier drinkers.

Other benefits

Other reported benefits of completing a dry challenge, even after 6 months, include:

reduced number of drinking days per week
reduced number of drinks per sitting
reduced frequency of getting drunk
greater self-rated physical health
changes in diet
increased exercise
money savings
improved sleep
better health
weight loss