Quitting alcohol has a number of important health benefits. In addition to improving your mental well-being, it may lower your risk of illness and contribute to better sleep.

Better-Looking Skin

One place where you’ll notice the negative effects of alcohol on your body is your skin.

For example, drinking alcohol can cause:

• Broken capillaries on the face and nose
• Dry skin due to dehydration
• Inflammation
• Jaundice (with chronic, long-term use)
• Reduced collagen levels, resulting in loose, saggy skin

When you stop drinking, your skin gets more elastic and the redness and discolouration on your face will slowly fade.

As alcohol is broken down and metabolised by your body, toxins get released. Some will eventually get broken down into less harmful compounds, but your body’s ability to process these substances is limited. 

Other factors

Excessive drinking can lead to the build-up of toxic, highly cancer-causing (carcinogenic) compounds that contribute to inflammation in your body, especially in your liver.

Alcohol also affects your mind. There are certain brain chemicals called excitatory neurotransmitters that will stop doing their job when you drink, which can make you feel sleepy and sedated.³