A Sober Night's Sleep

By Clare Pooley on Sep 2, 4:17am

It's Saturday morning, and I've bounced out of bed, leaving the children still slumbering away happily. One of the very best things about being sober, the one I never tire of (please excuse the pun!), is sleep.

For at least a decade, I was a terrible sleeper. I would look at the rest of my family, who'd be happily out for the count for hours, and think how do you DO that? I would get to sleep easily enough, but then I'd wake up at around 3am tossing and turning and unable to drop off again until about ten minutes before my alarm went off.

I blamed my insomnia on the inevitable stresses and strains of modern life. I tried everything to cure my lack of sleep – relaxation and meditation, exercise, aromatherapy pillows and various...

What Your Body Does After One Month Off Alcohol

By Chloe Mcleod on Sep 2, 3:13am

We all love to indulge in alcohol every now and then, but a night out with friends brings social pressures in regards to frequent drinking. It can feel impossible to dodge having a drink when you want to be part of the group vibe - and before you know it, you’re waking up with a dry mouth and a nasty hangover again.

Go Sober is a great way to reassess your relationship with alcohol consumption and see the health benefits of taking a month off. If you’re signing up to raise money, you’ll also be helping people with cancer.

Here are a few ways the human body can benefit from abstaining from alcohol for a whole month.

#1 Improvements to mental health

Alcohol may seem like a mood elevator when you’re dancing and having a great time with your...

How to avoid the sweet-tooth when giving up alcohol

By Juliet Hodges, Bupa UK on Oct 17, 4:15am

Bupa UK’s behaviour change advisor Juliet Hodges has shared her top tips to how avoid sweet treats during a booze free month. 

Overindulging with sugary treats is a really common antidote to giving up alcohol or taking a break. Sugar is a particularly potent replacement because it has a similar effect on the brain as alcohol, releasing dopamine which gives us a feeling of pleasure. So how can you beat the odds and avoid sugar while you Go Sober?

Try “if-then” planning

If you’re determined to keep the sweet treats at a minimum, one technique you could try is “if-then” planning, which has been shown to be an effective tool for changing behaviour. For example, you might find it difficult to refuse the dessert menu at a restaurant when...

Eat well to make the most of your Go Sober

By Anne Finch on Oct 12, 2:37am

Taking a break from booze is absolutely one of the best things you can do for your health. Not only are you giving your liver (and other organs!) a break, but you can expect these benefits:

• Better sleep – alcohol might help us fall asleep, but it leads to poorer quality sleep
• Less bar snacks – drinking stirs hunger, and can also lead to sub-optimal food choices (I’m looking at you late-night fried chicken)
• Less hangover remedies – greasy fry-ups, sugary drinks and fast food are pretty common on Sunday morning, meaning the effects of your weekend drag on
• More movement – not being glued to the couch recovering means more opportunities to get out and about  

If you’re looking for even more ways to treat your body right, we’ve got...

Managing Sugar Cravings

By Peter Rule on Aug 21, 10:00am

We all seek the taste of sweet foods naturally in our diet, however it can be easy to crave excess high sugar foods for many varied reasons.

We have 5 basic recognised tastes – sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami (savoury) however we can become imbalanced in our food choices due to stress, low energy, eating on the run, looking for psychological reward or treat or nutritional deficiencies, just to name a few.

Refined sugar is addictive due to the release of dopamine from the brain. Dopamine is one of the principal neurotransmitters involved in creating substance dependence on things like alcohol. The excess dopamine that is produced gives rise to powerful feelings of pleasure; however these excess levels also take a long-term toll on...

4 health habits to make the most of Go Sober

By Kirsty Welsh on Aug 1, 10:10am

You’ve committed to a month without booze. That’s pretty huge! Here’s a virtual-fist pump from me to you!

It makes sense to maximise the next 31 days in terms of your own health gains; without alcohol in your body you can think clearer, move easier and you are creating a far more receptive environment for nutrient absorption, detoxing and cleansing. All these things move you closer to looking and feeling your best and most youthful.

Think of it as a 31-day health challenge, where you can actually do all the things you’ve been meaning to for so long!

I suggest that for the next 31 days you make healthier eating choices in general, but, and keep an open mind here… Why not try some lifestyle changes are directed at the mind-body connection?...

Top tips for detoxing for Go Sober

By Melissa Ingram on Aug 1, 10:00am

The goal of detoxing is to cleanse the body of toxins however the truth is our body is detoxing all the time, via our skin, liver, kidneys and bowel. Even if you’re very health conscious, detoxifying once in a while is still important to give your body a rest from chemicals.

While abstaining from alcohol during Go Sober, try not to overdo it on other stimulants. Why not try a complete detox and cut back or cut out altogether things like caffeine, cigarettes and sugar and give yourself the best possible chance of a healthy October!

Some dos and don’ts when detoxing

• A slow approach is advised and more likely to result in a lifestyle change rather than a quick fix.
• Don’t starve yourself – being hungry simply makes the experience unpleasant...

Surviving Go Sober

By Sarah Gibson on Aug 1, 9:55am

Tips from psychologist Sarah Gibson

Thinking of taking on Go Sober? Wondering if you’ve got the willpower to see it through? For so many Brits, the prospect of a dry thirty-one day stretch can seem as gruelling as any marathon. Psychologist Sarah Gibson shares a few tips to help you rise to the challenge.

Link your goals to what you value

Remind yourself each and every day of how Go Sober relates to the kind of person you want to be: someone who helps people who are dealing with serious illness, someone who invests in their own health, someone who embraces challenge. Remember that such values-oriented action can have profound psychological wellbeing benefits as well as the obvious physical benefits of abstaining. It’s not just a win-win. It...

Using Meditation to Curb Cravings

By Geraldine Coren on Aug 1, 9:00am

Meditation is a powerful tool for self-awareness that can help with food cravings on both the physical and mental levels. 

We all know how powerful sugar cravings can be, whispering to us like a voice in our ear – and an impulse felt in the body too – distracting us from our goals to be healthy and vital. Yet we all know where acting on our cravings too often leads us. The cycle of trying to resist, then indulging, feeling guilty and even sick, berating ourselves when we know our behaviour isn’t good for us ... and then setting up the sugar craving pattern to be repeated all over again.

Most of us have heard of the benefits of meditation, how it can slow down a busy mind and calm the nervous system. But meditation is more than just...