30 Ways to Spend a Dry January
By Kristin L. Daley, PhD, FSBSM
Among the different New Year’s resolutions, a more popular one is participating in a Dry January. Although I don’t tend to do New Year’s resolutions, this is one that I have repeated over the past 6 years, with a miss or two during COVID. According to research, Dry January reduces total alcohol consumption for the year, improves sleep, promotes weight loss, and increases positive emotions. You read that correctly, going a month without alcohol actually increases your experience of positive emotions. Here are some ways that you can occupy this new head space:
Discover tea. People seem to like tea a lot, based on the independent tea sellers I see at the mall, so it might make for a good alcohol substitute.
Invest in seltzer. A friend had asked for an alternative to champagne for her Golden Globes party, and one of her perky friends stated, “Seltzer, it’s great!” I guess it is the champagne of water?
Decaf coffee. Brown water that is not banned from most clean eating, right? If you learn to drink it black, you might even earn some street cred. Enough with the drinks, I promise.
Vegetable prep. Those cleaning eating plans usually include insane amounts of veggies.
Mindfulness. If you tended to use alcohol as a stress reducer, it’s time to learn much more complex ways to manage stress. There are many easy ways to engage with mindfulness, the digital world is filled with tools. I am sure that you will enjoy being alone with your thoughts.
Try not to judge the alcohol consumption of others. Think of this as adding to your mindfulness practice.
Learn to ride a longboard or even a hover board, you are much more balanced sober.
5 AM Jazzercise. Eliminating alcohol improves sleep, which prepares you for Jazzercise. I do feel that Jazzercise would be more fun if it wasn’t performed stone cold sober, at least that was my thought on Monday AM at 5:30.
Kitchen dance party (can be performed as a break from all of that vegetable prep). I recommend an older jam like FloRida’s “My House.” Of course, he mentions popping the champagne many times, so you may be better going further back in the catalog for some Jackson 5. There are no alcohol references in any of their jams.
Catch up on some streaming programs whose details you might have missed. I keep intending to revisit the twists in Slow Horses and starting Fleishman is in Trouble.
Spend some time re-vamping your social media image. Try to avoid the photos in your news feed of friends who are fabulous and partying.
Move girl’s night from the local bar to Whole Foods. Your friends can still have wine while you have a nice variety of seltzers from which to choose. Led to the first time I ever spent less than $2 on girl’s night.
Use the money that you saved from girl’s night to get a new manicure. Avoid the shops that offer free wine with the manicure.
Swing on playground swings. It might make you feel dizzy, but it is really a pretty fun activity.
Host a marathon of your favorite documentaries from PBS Frontline. Do not be sad when no one shows up.
Learn astrology.
Plan your retirement. Fantasize about the amazing place you will spend your golden years.
Learn to cook new foods that meet the clean eating guidelines to which you agreed. Don’t be surprised when you are pitifully disappointed by how hard it is to actually make cauliflower taste like anything other than cauliflower.
Create a new handshake.
Play a board game. Our family has become seriously competitive with Rummikub. Don’t let them win.
Listen to some great podcasts. I recommend Maintenance Phase, Hidden Brain, Revisionist History, and a local favorite, One Day You’ll Thank Me.
Try shopping for used clothes. Whether you go a a bricks and mortar thrift store or go the online route, this can be an interesting way to explore fashion.
Write letters. My favorite therapy tool is writing a letter that you don’t send to someone who has been a source of hurt or frustration. Remember, don’t actually send the letter unless you chose to write a good one.
Practice yoga. You are much more flexible when not sober, but much more balanced sober. Chances are that you will find someone in the yoga class who also likes tea or seltzer.
Avoid sporting events at all costs. They will just make you sad. This is one of the reasons that many sports fans do not engage with sober January. I realize that this isn’t actually an activity.
Remodel a bathroom. This is actually how we are spending sober January in the Daley house.
Master the art of the “mocktail.” Your sober or pregnant friends will greatly appreciate this skill. My 12 yo daughter is actually a mocktail ninja!
Go to a library. They have free books and it can be a great place for some people watching. Try to position yourself near the computers if you go that route.
Clean out your inbox. Your accounts will thank you!
Swing kettle bells. Nothing clears the brain more than heavy weight that is swinging through the air. It is good to have a professional watch you do this, if you don’t like getting hurt.
Yes, there are 31 days in sober January, but a lot of folks will be able to make it through day 31 with the excitement that it is about to be over. My challenge often goes through mid-February, so no such luck in our house.
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