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If you’re already finding a fully-sober Dry January to be a drag, there’s a less restrictive way to cut back on drinking and still improve your relationship with alcohol.

A semi-dry ritual dubbed “Damp January” has become an annual event for people who want to cut back on alcohol without giving it up entirely.

<a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(17)30003-8/fulltext" target=_blank>Studies show</a> that even a modest reduction in drinking can lead to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32056311/" target=_blank>improvements</a> in blood pressure, mental health and liver health. It <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2795595" target=_blank>can lower</a> risk for cancer and <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/alchohol-intake-and-cardiovascular-disease-risk/" target=_blank>heart disease.</a> And you may even notice improvements in your sleep, energy levels and skin.

There’s not one best way to do the Damp January challenge. Here are some ways to cut back on alcohol.

Special occasion drinking: Avoid drinking for the month of January except for special occasions, like a wedding, birthday party or anniversary celebration.

Add more dry days to your month: Reduce the number of days you drink during January.

Consume fewer drinks in a setting: For a month, cut back on the amount you drink on each occasion. If you regularly have two or more glasses of wine with dinner, for instance, commit to just one drink per sitting.

A combination approach: Experts say it’s best to reduce the number of days you drink and the amount that you drink on each occasion. You can set a goal to have a specific number of dry days each week and fewer servings on the days that you drink. You can drink only at special events or be sober on special occasions. Pick the strategy that works for you.

The important thing to know is that any strategy you use to reduce how much and how often you drink will be beneficial, said Katie Witkiewitz, director of the Center on Alcohol, Substance Use And Addiction at the University of New Mexico and a former president of the Society of Addiction Psychology.

“Any reduction in drinking is associated with improvements in health,” she said. “As your drinking increases you have increased health risks, and as your drinking decreases you have decreased health risks.”

“Even if you didn’t drink for one day that’s still one day less of drinking,” she added.

Damp January (some people call it Dryish January) can act as something of an alcohol reset – a chance to give your gut, brain and liver a break and reassess your drinking habits.

Damp January works for many people because it’s not all or nothing. If your goal is to reduce your drinking by 30 percent and you fall a little short, that still counts as a success. If you find even small reductions in your drinking are impossible then that could signal the need for professional help.

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For Damp January, Witkiewitz sets a goal of drinking 50 percent less for the entire month – meaning she drinks on 50 percent fewer days than usual and she consumes half as much alcohol on those occasions. She finds that it improves her sleep and energy levels and that it helps her skin look clearer and healthier.

“The holidays are a time when I might drink more than usual, so for me Damp January is a nice change of pace,” she said. “Our livers are really magical organs, but they could use our help every once in a while. You should be kind to your liver and your brain and your body generally.”

The benefits of Dry January last longer than a month

Almost any adult can take part in a sobriety challenge. The one exception, Witkiewitz said, are people who are heavily dependent on alcohol: They should consult a doctor first because severe alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous.

But for everyone else, the benefits of doing a sobriety challenge are well documented. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/12/27/dry-january-health-benefits/" target=_blank>In a series of studies</a>, researchers found that people who participated in Dry January reported losing weight, sleeping better, saving money and having more energy and a better ability to concentrate. They reported feeling a sense of achievement and gaining better control of their drinking.

Even though they typically returned to drinking after completing the challenge, they were still drinking considerably less six months later.

Richard de Visser, an author of the studies on Dry January participants, said that people who only reduced consumption also experienced health benefits – just not to the same extent as the people who stayed sober for the full month.

“Dry January is not about getting people to stop drinking altogether – it’s about giving people control over their drinking,” said de Visser, a psychologist at Brighton and Sussex Medical School in England. “It’s temporary abstinence, which has some short-term benefits for your health, but it also gives you more control over your drinking.”

De Visser compared Damp January to exercise. Getting up off the couch and moving even a little is better than doing nothing. And every day that you cut back on alcohol is effectively a training session that helps you develop the skills to better manage your drinking. “The more training sessions you do the stronger you get,”  de Visser said.

Ian Andersen, a co-founder of <a href="https://www.sunnyside.co/" target=_blank>Sunnyside, a mindful drinking</a> app, said that 25,000 people participated in the company’s <a href="https://www.sunnyside.co/dryish-january" target=_blank>Dry(ish) January challenge</a> in 2023. The company found that 32 percent of participants chose to do a fully dry month last January while 68 percent of people opted to do Damp January.

The people who set out to do a fully dry month lowered their alcohol intake by 61 percent during the challenge, while those who chose to cut back reduced their alcohol consumption by 22 percent. Damp January participants reported saving money, sleeping better, eating healthier and feeling more productive and focused.

Alice Ferris, a fundraising consultant who lives in Flagstaff, Ariz., said she was interested in the health benefits of Dry January, but she didn’t think a month of abstinence would be practical because her work involves a lot of socializing.

“There’s a lot of food and drink consumption that’s involved in my day-to-day life,” she said. “Plus, I just like it. I consider myself a bit of a foodie, and I enjoy the ritual of drinking.”

Ferris used the Sunnyside program and set a goal of having three to four dry days a week. She planned dry days based on her work and travel schedule, and would typically budget one cocktail or glass of wine on the days when she did drink. Ferris said she noticed that having dry days significantly improved her sleep and made her more mindful about her drinking.

“It helped me become more conscious about when I’m picking up the glass,” she said.

After the challenge, Ferris started doing two regular dry days a week. “I like the flexibility,” she said. “That’s what helped the habit stick – that I don’t have to be perfect.”

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Practical tips and smart solutions for your health, technology, travel, food, money, home and more. Elevate your daily life with expertise from The Washington Post. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/experts-for-every-day/" target=_blank>Find it all here</a>.

Try these tips to succeed at Damp January

Here are some ways to set yourself up for success.

Use an alcohol reduction app like <a href="https://www.sunnyside.co/" target=_blank>Sunnyside</a> or <a href="https://www.joinreframeapp.com/landing-pages/alcohol-tracking" target=_blank>Reframe.</a> Apps can help you customize your Damp January plan, send you daily reminders and track your alcohol intake.

Follow the rule of 20. Cravings typically subside after about 20 minutes, said Vedant Pradeep, the co-founder and CEO of Reframe. “Play a game, go for a walk, talk to your friends or read a book,” he said. “Anything that you can do to distract yourself for that period of 20 minutes will go a long way.”

Find alternatives to alcohol. There are now a wide variety of nonalcoholic wines, beers and spirits that you can use as substitutes for alcoholic beverages. Ferris signed up for a subscription service called <a href="https://weareraisingthebar.com/" target=_blank>Raising the Bar</a>, which sends her a monthly kit to make elaborate nonalcoholic cocktails. She loves the ritual of it. “The one I have this month is a nonalcoholic sangria that includes a syrup with edible glitter in it,” she said.

Find activities to replace drinking. Sunnyside <a href="https://www.sunnyside.co/blog/dryish-january-study" target=_blank>found</a> that some of the most common hobbies and activities that people who did Dry or Damp January included reading, fitness, cooking, meditation, journaling, time with family or trying new restaurants and nonalcoholic bars.

Do you have a question about healthy eating? Email <a href="mailto:EatingLab@washpost.com">EatingLab@washpost.com</a> and we may answer your question in a future column.

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