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For many people, the start of the new year is the perfect opportunity to set new goals, resolutions, and integrate some healthy habits. One popular example? Partaking in Dry January, in which you commit to not drinking alcohol for the first month of the year. Obviously giving your body a break from booze is bound to leave you physically feeling better (no hangovers!), but you may still be wondering what the different Dry January benefits are. According to Dr. Soma Mandal, M.D., a board-certified internist at Summit Medical Group in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, there are a number of both physical and emotional health benefits that skipping alcohol for a month can bring you — which goes way beyond the perk of waking up without a pounding headache. From getting more quality sleep to an improvement in your complexion (and even your sex life, BTW), there are plenty of positive advantages to Dry January that just may convince you to try it. Bustle spoke with experts as well as real people who have experienced a month without alcohol to learn more about what the Dry January benefits are. Read on for intel on five different perks you can experience when you give your body a break from booze for a month. Bressan, R.A. (2005). The role of dopamine in reward and pleasure behaviour--review of data from preclinical research. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15877719/ Lewis, P. (2018). How Memory Replay in Sleep Boosts Creative Problem-Solving. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(18)30070-6? Lovinger, D. (1997). Serotonin’s Role in Alcohol’s Effects on the Brain. Alcohol Health and Research World, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6826824/ Pan, J. (2018). Alcohol Consumption and the Risk of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Alcohol and Alcoholism, https://academic.oup.com/alcalc/article/54/1/62/5090261 Dr. Soma Mandal, M.D., a board-certified internist at Summit Medical Group in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey