What a month off does to the next six

I realised something this week. Sober October starts tomorrow and a few people you work with will be doing it, which brings up the question I’ve always wondered about: does a month off make any difference once it’s over, or does everybody make up for it in one very big weekend?

Nobody has studied Sober October properly, but Dry January has been studied for years. Richard de Visser at the University of Sussex followed people doing Dry January alongside ordinary drinkers, over 6,000 between them, and checked back in August. The Dry January group were still drinking less six months later, the comparison group hadn’t changed, and the binge February everyone worries about mostly didn’t happen.

What I find more interesting is why. The people who did the month came out with a much stronger sense of control over their drinking, and it was still there six months on. That kind of confidence comes from 31 evenings of proving you can, and deciding to do it is only the start.

I gave up alcohol four years ago. It wasn’t a big moment, just a habit that had stopped serving me, and going against the social norm was hard at first (sober stag do, anyone?). The Sussex research says the first week is the hardest, so plan for it, and the people who used the support tools, like the app and daily emails, were twice as likely to finish the month.

So if you’re doing it, tell someone and track it. And if you’re not, maybe don’t be the one pouring the drink.

A quote worth sitting with

“It’s the frequency and dose that defines the poison.”

— Peter Attia

A month off changes the frequency, and that turned out to be what stuck.

The Saturday Standard

31 Evenings

A test of whether you can hold the pace.

What I’ve been working on

I’ve added nutrition coaching to what I do. If the training is going well but the food side still feels like guesswork, I’ll build a plan around how you actually eat and keep you accountable on WhatsApp week to week.

It’s £20 a week, or a one-off plan for £60 if you’d rather run it yourself. Online coaching, with training, nutrition and sleep together, is £40 a week.

Details are at stuart-white.co.uk. Or just reply to this email and we can work out which one fits.