Why Dry July Might Be the Best Thing You Do for Your Brain

Each July, thousands of Australians commit to going alcohol-free to raise funds for cancer support and improve their own health. It's a noble cause, but it's also an incredible opportunity to reset your brain, energy, and mood.

From the outside, Dry July might seem like a wellness fad or a chance to test your willpower. However, as a clinician working at the intersection of psychology and metabolic health, I see it differently. For many of us, taking a break from alcohol, even temporarily, can be transformative for our mental clarity, emotional stability, and mitochondrial health.

Alcohol and Brain Energy: More Than Just a Hangover

We often think of alcohol as a social lubricant or a way to "wind down." However, the metabolic effects of alcohol are more significant than many realise, particularly in the brain.

Alcohol acts as a toxin to the mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses in your cells responsible for producing energy (ATP). This is particularly important in the brain, which consumes up to 20% of your body's energy. When mitochondrial function is impaired, so is your brain's ability to regulate mood, think clearly, and recover from stress.

Alcohol disrupts brain energy metabolism through several mechanisms. Firstly, it causes direct mitochondrial damage by increasing oxidative stress and impairing mitochondrial function, leading to energy deficits in the brain. Secondly, alcohol causes blood glucose instability through spikes and crashes, contributing to anxiety, low mood, and irritability, especially the following day. Additionally, whilst alcohol may help you fall asleep faster, it disrupts REM sleep and slow-wave sleep, both of which are essential for brain repair and emotional regulation. Finally, regular drinking, even at moderate levels, can promote neuroinflammation in the brain, which is linked to depression and cognitive decline.

For people with existing mood disorders, anxiety, ADHD or burnout, alcohol can be like pouring petrol on a fire, adding more instability to an already energy-deprived brain.

Alcohol, Dopamine, and the Comedown

Dr Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author of Dopamine Nation, explains that all addictive substances, including alcohol, create a cycle of short-term pleasure followed by long-term pain. Alcohol increases dopamine briefly, giving you a sense of pleasure or relief. However, the brain quickly compensates by reducing dopamine sensitivity, leaving you feeling flat, anxious or low once the effects wear off.

Over time, this can lead to a "dopamine deficit state" where your baseline mood is lower than before you started drinking. You may find yourself drinking not to feel good, but just to feel normal.

Breaking this cycle is challenging but completely possible.

How to Navigate the First Two Weeks Without Alcohol

The first two weeks are the most difficult because your brain is recalibrating. You may feel irritable, anxious, low, or have trouble sleeping. That doesn't mean something's wrong; it means something is healing.

Here are evidence-based strategies to help you through, based on Dr Lembke's clinical experience and my own work with clients in metabolic psychology.

Expect Discomfort and Reframe It

Understanding that discomfort is part of healing is crucial. Dr Lembke recommends telling yourself: "This is the price of admission for a better life. This pain is temporary."

Anticipating the difficult days and preparing for them can significantly reduce your risk of giving up too soon. Your brain's neuroplasticity is working to restore balance, and this process requires time and patience.

Replace, Don't Just Remove

The brain craves pleasure and distraction. Simply removing alcohol without adding alternatives sets you up for failure. Instead, replace your usual alcoholic drinks with sparkling water, kombucha, or herbal teas. Schedule dopamine-neutral or dopamine-positive activities such as walking in nature, practising deep breathing exercises, taking cold showers, journaling, listening to music, or playing board games. Additionally, socialise in alcohol-free ways through brunches, morning walks, or mocktail evenings.

Create Friction Between You and Drinking

Making drinking less convenient is a powerful strategy. Remove alcohol from your home environment, avoid venues or events that revolve around drinking, particularly during the initial weeks, and inform friends and family that you're participating in Dry July so they can support you or at least refrain from offering you drinks.

The more obstacles between you and alcohol, the less likely you are to reach for it impulsively when cravings arise.

Track the Benefits

Start a "Brain Energy Diary" where you document daily changes in sleep quality, mood stability and anxiety levels, cognitive function including focus and memory, physical energy levels, and self-esteem. This builds positive reinforcement and gives you concrete evidence to reflect on when cravings hit.

Delay the Urge

Cravings come in waves and typically pass within minutes. Dr Lembke recommends a simple delay tactic: "I won't drink now. I'll wait ten minutes and see how I feel."

That small pause gives your prefrontal cortex, the decision-making part of your brain, time to come back online and override the limbic urge.

What Happens After 30 Days?

By the end of Dry July, many people notice significant improvements. Mood becomes more stable with fewer fluctuations throughout the day. Cognitive function sharpens, with improved concentration and clearer thinking. Sleep quality improves dramatically, with deeper, more restorative rest. Anxiety levels typically reduce, and many people experience less reactivity to stressors. Sugar and caffeine cravings often diminish as blood glucose regulation improves. Perhaps most importantly, there's often a profound sense of confidence that comes from knowing you can make meaningful changes that matter.

Your mitochondria are beginning to recover. Your dopamine system is rebalancing. Your brain energy is being restored. Your mental health, possibly for the first time in years, starts to feel more stable and grounded.

Final Thoughts

If you struggle with anxiety, depression, brain fog or emotional volatility and you're using alcohol to cope, Dry July isn't just a challenge. It's an opportunity.

It's an opportunity to understand your brain better, to improve your metabolic and mitochondrial health, and to experience what life can be like when your brain has the energy it needs to function optimally.

You don't have to abstain forever. However, 30 days might just change the way you think about alcohol and yourself.