Benefits of Quitting Alcohol and Where to Turn for Help

Alcohol is a depressant, so it makes you drowsy, but it also lowers coordination and motor function. That’s why you shouldn’t drive after drinking.

When consumed in excess, alcohol also lowers your sleep quality and might lead to insomnia. You may get interrupted and never reach that rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, so you might be sleepy in the daytime.

Individuals with alcohol use disorder usually experience insomnia symptoms. You use it to fall asleep but don’t get enough. Then, you try combating the sleepiness with stimulants, going back to alcohol to be tired once again.

Giving up alcohol altogether is often the best way to improve your sleep habits!

Alcohol often has high amounts of calories, but they’re empty calories. Therefore, they don’t offer nutritional value to your body. Other foods like this include donuts, cookies, and cake.

Often, those empty-calorie items are appealing because they’re seen as comfort foods. However, that leads to excess fat in the body.

You may not know this, but alcohol calories are stored as sugar and converted to fat. If you are trying to lose weight or get to a healthier weight, you must limit how many sweets you eat and how many alcoholic beverages you consume.

Quitting alcohol can help you attain a healthy weight and might even reduce your high blood pressure, and lower your cholesterol with time.

Heavy drinking is linked to other illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression. Some people turn to alcohol for self-medication of their mental illness issues.

However, alcohol often worsens those symptoms. This leads to a vicious cycle where you self-medicate and feel poorly, repeating the process over and over.

Overall, heavy drinking can lead to the “moral hangover.” This means you feel uneasy, regretful, or guilty after doing something you shouldn’t have done while intoxicated. We understand how upsetting it can be, but our team is here to assist!

When you stop drinking, you can save a lot of money. Imagine how many times per week you buy alcohol. It’s not cheap, especially in this day and age. Whenever you quit, you might be able to save up that cash and use it for a vacation or necessities you’ve been neglecting.

Those who go to bars often find themselves indulging in fruity cocktails or buying drinks for others. That also adds up. It’s easy to pass the buck when you’re having a good time, but you soon regret how much you spent when the next day rolls around!

Those who drink heavily are often malnourished to some degree. Excessive drinking causes your body to deplete its important nutrients. You may not eat healthy foods or skip meals all the time because you’re focused on consuming alcohol. However, that’s not enough to keep you alive and well.

In a sense, you’re not getting the fat, protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates you need. This means less energy and the inability to function properly. Quit the habit with the help of Crestone!

We now know that some cancers are more common for those who drink heavily. They include breast cancer, colon/rectum cancer, larynx cancer, esophagus cancer, liver cancer, and mouth/throat cancer.

Alcohol is considered a known carcinogen, which means it’s got the potential to cause cancer. While you may not get it yourself, you’re at a higher risk because of your excessive alcohol consumption.

There are many factors that increase that risk of developing alcohol-related cancers. They include how much time you spend drinking, how much you drink at one time, and how long you’ve excessively consumed alcohol.

Generally, we feel it’s best to avoid alcohol altogether to reduce your risk. While it might not be easy, we’re here to help you!

Drinking is bad for your liver, so quitting drinking can help you improve your health in that area.

The liver processes the alcohol, and it’s not easy to do. When you have a large amount, the liver works hard and gets tired from doing the job all the time. It wasn’t meant to handle heavy or frequent periods of drinking! Over time, you can develop cirrhosis, fatty liver syndrome, or hepatitis.

If you quit drinking, it’s a great move to ensure that your liver stays healthy. Since it’s regenerative, it can repair itself over time. Let us help you take that first step!

Heavy alcohol use has now been linked to difficulty focusing and memory loss. Sometimes, it can become permanent.

Alcohol is a depressant, so it slows your body’s systems down. Nerves don’t communicate efficiently and can affect the hippocampus. This part of the brain helps store and create memories.

When you stop drinking, you allow the body to repair itself. If it hasn’t been too long, you may be able to start creating memories again, though you could end up with dementia because of your prolonged alcohol use.

An alcohol addiction takes up most of a person’s time. They focus on their next drink and often ignore their relationships with people. However, they soon realize how much they consume and get anxious or fearful about what to do.

Quitting alcohol is the best step you can take, and we’re here to help you overcome your addiction!

Drinking takes a lot of time away from other things. Therefore, quitting alcohol often helps you learn why you drank, what you can do instead, and develop new hobbies.

You might have enjoyed woodworking, crocheting, or playing video games. Quitting alcohol lets you go back to those personal interests and develop new ones!

Quitting alcohol now means you never have to experience a hangover again. Those headaches and nausea can be a thing of the past!

You learned earlier that you don’t eat healthily when you’re drinking all the time. Once you quit drinking, you often start eating right again, which means you have more energy!