Dry January: Good sleep is hard to argue with

[Third in a series of five stories]

• Is it time for Dry January?
• Dry January: How to deal with early failure

It's funny how life tests you the minute you declare having learned one of its many lessons.

On the day I promised to do better, after admitting my early Dry January setback, work kicked into high gear. A never-ending stream of tasks landed on my lap, each pulling me in a different direction, requiring a special kind of mental agility, as well as 100% of my attention. They were not the kind of task you can juggle — they each required a different skillset! — and they came in fast. From to editing to attending a meeting, to doing one-on-ones to giving a presentation. It's whack. 

Next-level busy, I could only carve out a 20-minute lunch break past 2pm before I went back to the circus of the workday. It was exactly the kind of day that would see me pop open a bottle of beer or have a glass wine after dinner.

Like most people, I am convinced the nightcap would help me relax and get sleep. Not only would it wash the day's stresses away, it would also give my stressful day an element of fun (and maybe rebellion?) because then, I would indulge in things like mixed nuts, or chips and dip, or an extra helping of dark chocolate if I was having red wine.

But stuck in the middle of Dry January, there was no such reprieve available for the stressful day. Which is terrible because the rest of the week went the same way. 

I didn't think I would be able to keep up with the workload without alcohol, but surprisingly I made it out of the busy work week alive, and with a spring to my step. 

I credit it to the kind of sleep I started getting: It was excellent. Where before, I would get knocked down quickly only to endure light, disrupted sleep throughout the night, sleep without alcohol turned out to be deeper and continuous. I knew I was hitting REM later in my sleep, too because not a few times, I woke up from super vivid dreams come the morning. 

My experience is pretty common among Dry January participants. In a podcast with the American Psychological Association, Richard de Visser, PhD said "up into the 70% of people who say that they sleep better or have better concentration." 

A 2013 study published on PubMed explains why: Alcohol can and does wreck havoc on sleep. "At all dosages, alcohol causes a reduction in sleep onset latency, a more consolidated first half sleep and an increase in sleep disruption in the second half of sleep," it said, adding the reduction in total night REM sleep is among the most recognizable efforts of alcohol. 

No wonder I've been sleeping so good — and because sleep is so important to mental health, I've been feeling good, too. I would wake up ahead of my alarm, feeling refreshed, rested, and the biggest surprise of them all, not dreading the day. 

In fact, dare I say, I often felt ready to face the day, thanks to this new-found fountain of energy and mental clarity, and I suspect it's what allowed me to get through the frazzling work week.

In the podcast, de Visser said, people who abstained from alcohol "feel like their brain is working better because they’re concentrating better, they have more energy."

It's true. Despite the incredibly busy work week, I surprised myself when I woke up early on Saturday with enough energy to go to the gym. Who am I, I thought. 

An article about the benefits of Dry January, published on Oxford Academic, said "people who tried to abstain from alcohol during January were also significantly more likely to have tried to engage in more physical activity or to improve their diet."

I personally have not tried improving my diet, but without alcohol, I ate less chips and mixed nuts, which I suppose has also contributed to better sleep. I was no longer stuffing myself with the "bad things" after all.

As for engaging in more physical activity, I'm happy to report I have not only gone to the gym more often since coming clean from alcohol 11 days ago. I have also managed to raise my baseline on the treadmill!

I still struggle with reaching for a tipple, especially these days when the cool weather is red wine-perfect and there are a few bottles to choose from within reach. But good sleep? Good sleep is hard to argue with.

— GMA Integrated News