With the explosion of craft beer, hard seltzers and family-friendly breweries across the U.S., you may be surprised to learn that a recent movement grounded in abstinence has been gaining followers.
But what exactly happens to the brain when a person who regularly drinks goes cold turkey — even for a short while? The answer is complicated.
Typically, those who join the sober curious movement don’t consider themselves to have an alcohol abuse disorder — they simply find that periods of sobriety offer more than drinking in moderation might, with new converts boasting increased energy, better sleep and an improvement in reasoning and memory.
It’s well established that heavy alcohol consumption decreases brain volume — with white matter especially vulnerable — but studies also show that some of that damage can be reversed during recovery.
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Although the full picture of how the brain recovers from persistent, heavy drinking is not fully understood, one often-studied area is how alcohol use affects dopamine, a neurotransmitter tied to the brain’s reward system. Multiple studies have shown a relationship between the consumption of alcohol and an influx in dopamine — which essentially tells your brain that alcohol is a “reward.”
When a person who drinks heavily stops abruptly, that rush of dopamine is also reduced. Eventually, the brain will try to recalibrate itself; and for the most part, it can restore its dopamine to more consistent levels.
