University College London study finds benefits in abstaining from drinking for short periods 08/01/14 Mark Rowley at the National Wine Centre who is doing dry January - he's only had one or two weekends off the booze in the past 15 years. pic Calum Robertson Source: News Limited PEOPLE who abstained from alcohol for a month enjoyed big health improvements, including better liver function, lower cholesterol, better sleep and improved concentration, but their social lives suffered significantly, a study has found. Many people who drink alcohol choose to give up for short periods, but there is no scientific evidence that this has any health benefits. In a recent study a group of science journalists teamed up with staff at University College London to study the short-term effects of abstinence on their health. Four of the journalists continued to drink 'normally' and 10 went alcohol-free across the 5 weeks of the study. TELL US: Can you abstain from drinking this month? Subjects completed questionnaires about their general health and drinking habits, had ultrasound scans to measure liver fat and provided blood samples prior to the study. These were repeated following an alcohol-free or normal drinking month. The four journalists who had continued to drink showed no changes to any of the measures but the ten who stopped drinking showed a marked improvement in measures of physical health. Liver fat fell by an average of 15 per cent in the detox group. Blood glucose also fell by an average of 23 per cent and total blood cholesterol levels were reduced by an average of 6 per cent. Psychologically, the detoxing journalists reported a 10 per cent improvement in the quality of sleep and a 18 per cent improvement in their ability to concentrate at work. One of Jalan's colleagues, Dr. Kevin Moore, also from the Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, suggested that these effects were potentially clinically significant. "if we could market a product with these benefits we would be raking it in" he observed. However, Jalan cautioned about over-interpreting short-term effects "Whether it's (effect is) for 15 days or six months, we don't know," says Jalan. However, "it lays the ground for larger studies," he said. The potential benefits of abstinence hold some additional appeal for Mark Rowley, who works at the Wine Centre in Adelaide. Following the Christmas break, he has started the new year with a 'dry January' as part of his preparations to be married in October. "My primary goal is to lose weight for the wedding but the additional health benefits are good too" he said. But the results were not all positive. The detox group also reported a significant drop in social contact relative to the control group. Clearly all that improved physical health comes at a potential psychological cost. The study did not quantify the effects of reduced social contact on the detox groups health and wellbeing. Mr Rowley said he was not surprised that the level of social contact dropped for participants. "A lot of socialising involves drinking so it might be the best way to reduce drinking," he said. Drinking usually enhances the fun, so it may be hard to not be a part of it - especially on Australia Day.