Sober October: was it a cause for good?
What is Sober October?
This year over 66,061 people signed up to Sober October (1) - Macmillan’s fundraising campaign aimed at challenging social drinkers to change their habits for a month and make some healthy lifestyle changes, while raising money to support people with cancer.
With November fast approaching, we want to look at whether giving up alcohol for 31 days in October made any difference to your physical and mental health.
Whether your reasons for giving up were;
- To raise money for a good cause
- To address your drinking habits
- For the challenge!
- Or supporting someone
The answer is a big resounding YES!
One month alcohol-free can benefit your health, attitude towards alcohol, mental health, well-being and even close relationships.
Not convinced?
Studies have shown that just 30 consecutive alcohol-free days improves:
- Sleep patterns
- Hydration
- Blood pressure
- Skin condition
- Liver function
If you had a successful Sober October ( only 1 or 2 drinks still counts as a success!) we want you to have a think about how you feel today compared to 31 days ago when you first started.
You may just be surprised at how different you already feel.
So why do Macmillan run Sober October?
In the UK alone, alcohol is linked to 12,800 cases of cancer every year (2), and is expected to lead to 1.2 million cancer hospital admissions and 135,000 cancer deaths by 2040 (3).
In England today, “there are currently over 10 million people drinking at levels which increase their risk of health harm,”(4).
Alcohol a leading cause
After smoking, alcohol is the leading cause of cancer. Regularly drinking more than the Chief Medical Officer low risk guidelines even by a small amount can result in a greater risk of developing 7 different types of cancer including:
• Mouth cancer
• Pharyngeal cancer (upper throat)
• Oesophageal cancer (food pipe)
• Laryngeal cancer (voice box)
• Breast cancer
• Bowel cancer
• Liver cancer
How alcohol causes cancer
When you drink your body converts alcohol (ethanol) into acetaldehyde, a toxic chemical.
This chemical damages DNA and prevents our cells from repairing.
It also causes liver cells to grow faster than normal. This accelerated cell regeneration makes it more likely for gene changes that lead to cancer to take hold.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies both ethanol within alcoholic beverages and acetaldehyde as a group 1 carcinogen, which means it’s a known cause of cancer. Interestingly they sit in the same category with the likes of asbestos, benzene and arsenic.
Low Risk Guidelines
While there are no known safe limits of alcohol consumption the Chief Medical Officer does have some useful guidelines to minimise the risk.
For men and women
• It is safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis.
• If you do drink as much as 14 units per week it is best to spread your drinking evenly over 3 or more days.
• If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all to keep risks to your baby to a minimum.
Use our Unit & Calorie Calculator to help identify the number of units you are drinking.
It’s not too late to make a positive change to your health…for good!
The 31 days have now come to an end, you feel and look fantastic and you are on track for better health… but how do you continue this positive trend?
• Reflect on your experience of doing Sober October and consider what you have learned about your pattern of drinking. Is there anything can change going forward?
• Try to take forward some of the behavioural changes you made during the month to help you maintain alcohol free days.
• Remind yourself of some of the positive things you experienced during the month to help maintain some of the changes you have made.
• If you decide to drink again try to stick within the recommended weekly limit of 14 units. Write down your drinking goals for November, December, January…
It’s great way to stay on track and keep motivated for the upcoming months. Download the DrinkCoach app to try our free drink tracker.
If you need support we offer face to face skype coaching sessions.
Our online coaching sessions are a professional, convenient and confidential way to discuss your drinking and receive expert guidance from an alcohol treatment specialist. Bookings can be made at a time that suits you, including evenings and weekends, with the sessions available anywhere you have a Skype connection. All of our coaches are trained and experienced alcohol workers.
References
1. https://www.gosober.org.uk
2) Parkin, D. M. (2011) 3. Cancers attributable to consumption of alcohol in the UK in 2010. British Journal of Cancer, 105(S2), p. S14.
3) Cancer Research UK. (2016) Alcohol and cancer trends: intervention scenarios. p. 4.
4) 20 Public Health England. (2016) The Public Health Burden of Alcohol and the Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Alcohol Control Policies: An evidence review. p. 200.