‘Sober curiosity’ destigmatizes the desire not to drink

Alcohol moderation movements provide support to cut back on drinking, especially for people who feel uncomfortable with their consumption

By Stephanie Pappas January 1, 2025

Key points

  • Experimenting with sobriety short term can have health benefits and allow people to grow their comfort with abstaining.
  • Sales of nonalcoholic beverages are skyrocketing, in part because of growing sober curiosity.
  • Moderation is not for those with a physical dependence on alcohol, but for some, a harm reduction approach is beneficial.

January is often a time when people cut back on drinking, whether as a New Year’s resolution, as a Dry January challenge, or simply because they’re worn out from holiday revels. But a year-round low- or no-alcohol life is becoming more mainstream as people cut back or quit drinking for reasons of mental, physical, or financial health—not necessarily because they believe they have an alcohol use problem.

Sales of nonalcoholic beer, wine, and spirits were up more than 40% between 2021 and 2023, according to a PBS News Hour report from July 2023. Mocktails, once a specialty ask of the bartender, are now increasingly printed on menus in bars and restaurants.

Fully nonalcoholic bars are popping up, too, such as Sans Bar in Austin, Texas. A substance use counselor years into his own sobriety journey, owner Chris Marshall founded Sans Bar to maintain the communal joy of a night out even when abstaining from alcohol.

These options are likely here to stay, given developing health concerns and trends in the generation of U.S. young adults now coming of age. In early 2025, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released an advisory on the causal relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer. And a 2023 Gallup analysis found that over the past 2 decades, 18- to 34-year-olds have become less likely to report drinking ever, less likely to report drinking in the past week, and less likely to say they sometimes drink to excess. Middle-aged adults held fairly steady in their drinking trends over this time period, while drinking among the 55+ age group rose, suggesting a generational shift. Adolescents now report having used alcohol at the lowest levels in the past 3 decades, with 22.7% reporting past-month drinking in 2021 compared with 50.8% in 1991 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2023).

The shift highlights a growing number of adults who are “sober curious,” or interested in cutting back on alcohol without necessarily reaching full abstinence. Many would not qualify for substance use disorder diagnoses and don’t have physiological dependence on alcohol, but they might feel as if their drinking falls into a gray area, negatively affecting their lives. Others are cutting back in solidarity with family members with substance use disorders or are worried about their own vulnerability to alcohol use disorder after seeing family members struggle. Some simply want to improve their health.

“I absolutely love the idea of just having a time when you take a look at your drinking, take a look at how it’s fitting in with your life, take a look at your relationship with it,” said Katie Witkiewitz, PhD, a clinical psychologist and the director of the Center on Alcohol, Substance Use, and Addictions at the University of New Mexico. “Is it serving you? Is it not serving you? These campaigns make it so much easier to do that.”

Taking a month off

Alcohol consumption is widespread, with 67% of adults in the United States reporting drinking in the past year, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (“Alcohol Use in the United States: Age Groups and Demographic Characteristics,” 2024). Nearly a quarter reported binge drinking—four drinks for a woman, or five for a man, in under 2 hours—within the past month.

Culturally, drinking to cope with stress is also normalized. From social media jokes about “wine moms” to teacher-gift mugs printed with slogans like, “I teach, therefore I drink,” there’s a “stereotypical yet not stereotypical” culture of getting through tough times with alcohol, said Lauren Ross, LCSW, a licensed social worker in Denver. The front lines of mental health care professionals are no exception, Ross said.

“What I’ve observed from being in this profession for a while is sometimes there’s a little bit of joking around self-care as a big glass of wine, or two or three,” she said.

These jokes not only make light of potentially problematic substance use but can highlight the inequities in whose drinking is stigmatized and whose isn’t. “Wine mom culture lets White women cosplay as ‘bad moms’ because they’re given the benefit of the doubt that BIPOC moms aren’t afforded,” journalist Tomi Akitunde pointed out to Wine Enthusiast magazine in 2023. A scoping review led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis clinical psychologist Devin Banks, PhD, found that Black people in substance use treatment fear being stigmatized by employers, police, and others, and that this stigma can be a barrier to treatment (International Journal of Drug Policy, Vol. 133, 2024).

In an environment of ubiquitous consumption, quitting—or even cutting back—can be tough. Out-of-date ideas about alcohol and addiction can exacerbate reluctance to quit, because people may feel there is a hard line between “alcoholics” (a stigmatizing term still in popular use) and people who don’t need to worry about their drinking. “If only people who have a problem with alcohol stop drinking, if you decide to stop drinking, you’re admitting you have a problem,” said Amanda White, LPC, LMHC, director of the Therapy for Women Center in Philadelphia.

The sober curiosity movement aims to remove some of that stigma by allowing anyone to try sobriety in a low-pressure way. Dry January first launched as an official campaign in 2013 as an effort of the organization Alcohol Change UK, which now offers an app, a podcast, and email coaching for participants. Australia and New Zealand originated Sober October and Dry July, while the Irish Heart Foundation runs On the Dry every January. Since 2003, Thai health organizations have promoted the Buddhist Lent Abstinence Campaign, which runs from July to October (Saengow, U., BMC Public Health, Vol. 19, 2019).

“The idea that people can experiment with changing their alcohol use in a fun and low-barrier way is really, really encouraging,” said Susan Collins, PhD, the president of APA Division 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology).

The Dry January campaign has not been linked to population-level alcohol consumption declines in the United Kingdom (Case, P., et al. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Vol. 227, 2021). However, there is evidence that those who do participate don’t always go back to their old ways on February 1. A study of U.K. Dry January participants in 2015 found that 6 months after the campaign, problematic alcohol use was lower among Dry January participants compared with those who said they wanted to change their alcohol use but did not officially register with the program (European Journal of Public Health, Vol. 27, No. 5, 2017). Official participants were also more likely to say they felt efficacious at refusing unwanted drinks at a 6-month follow-up.

Losing participants to follow-up is an issue, said Richard de Visser, PhD, the lead author of that paper, who has been researching the U.K. campaign since 2013. But overall, participation does seem to have long-term effects, with between 30% and 40% of participants drinking less after 6 months.

“A lot of people do use this as a way to make those long-term changes,” de Visser said.

Some U.S. research shows similar results. A study using a sample of 1,659 18- to 29-year-olds found that 7% had participated in a total abstinence challenge in the past year (Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Vol. 85, No. 2, 2024). Of those, half said they consumed less after the challenge ended, and 15% said they quit drinking altogether.

Participants in this study overwhelmingly reported that their motivations were based on general health and wellness rather than negative events with alcohol, said Daniel Siconolfi, PhD, a behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation and the lead author of the NIAAA-funded study, which was also coauthored by RAND clinical psychologist Elizabeth D’Amico, PhD, a Division 50 fellow. The individuals with the highest-risk drinking patterns were also the most likely to have heard of sober curiosity and tried abstinence challenges, Siconolfi said.

“We saw a confluence of abstinence challenges or sober curiosity, greater readiness to cut back on drinking, and health and wellness motivations. There’s an opportunity to tap into these movements to engage young adults who might benefit from evidence-based interventions or treatment,” he added.

A sober(ish) movement

Sober curiosity or moderation is not for people with a physical dependence on alcohol. Withdrawal from alcohol use in the case of physical dependence can be fatal, and anyone experiencing nausea or shakiness when trying to cut back on alcohol should seek out supervised medical withdrawal, Collins said. Others might be better off seeking permanent abstinence. For patients who aren’t able to complete a sobriety experiment, it’s important to view failed attempts at cutting back as information, White said. “I say, ‘Your goals aren’t always aligning with what you’re saying and what you’re doing, and if we’re doing the same thing over and over again, this may not be the way to do it.’”

But for those who are experimenting with cutting back and sober nights out, increased acceptance of a dry lifestyle can be a boon. Nonalcoholic options give people the opportunity to relearn how to socialize without the lubricating effect of alcohol.

“The triggers and cues are going to be there no matter what,” Marshall said. He sees nonalcoholic bars as a way to rewire them: “You can go to a space that looks like a beautiful bar, you open up a tab. For many people, that action right there is the start of a terrible night. But now they get to walk away with a new experience.”

January is Sans Bar’s busiest time, Marshall said, as patrons doing Dry January seek out nonalcoholic alternatives. But there are many customers who are simply moderating their drinking, as well. For many, moderation may mean limiting drinking to certain days of the week or certain situations: never at work parties, for example, or only during one-off events like a friend’s wedding or a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Spain.

Both drinkers who quit and those who cut back will likely experience health benefits. These can be most pronounced when someone abstains completely, White said, so she often advises patients who want to explore sobriety to take a full month off if they’re up to it. “It’s not some abstract concept like the health of their liver 30 years down the track; they’re feeling it themselves,” de Visser agreed.

Improved sleep is often the first benefit people mention, Witkiewitz said, which makes sense given alcohol’s multiple documented impacts on sleep quality (Colrain, I. M., et al. in Handbook of Clinical Neurology, Vol. 125, 2014). Other benefits include saving money, improvements in energy levels, and an increased sense of self-control. A thoughtful approach to taking time away from alcohol can allow people to develop other hobbies and coping skills, and perhaps reduce their lifetime risk of physiological dependence, Collins said.

“What I like about the sober curious forays into temporary abstinence is that it can bring your attention to how you’re feeling when you’re drinking versus not,” Collins said. “People feel encouraged, too, for taking smaller steps toward health and wellness, even if they are not ready for forever abstinence.”

Tips for cutting back

How to make sober curiosity work for you

Powering through a dry month will have physical health benefits, but to really get the most out of a sober curious experiment, it pays to be a little bit mindful. “Just like any other lifestyle change, you’ve got to be ready for it,” said Katie Witkiewitz, PhD, of the University of New Mexico.

She and the other experts featured in this article offer these tips for a successful Dry January—or any other stretch of time without alcohol.

  • Pick another drink. Alcohol often serves the purpose of demarcating the day—a glass of wine after work signals the start of relaxation. Replace that cue with a nonalcoholic bubbly water or some other fancy treat. Some people even decant a “boring” beverage into a fancy glass.
  • Expect a carb craving. It’s not unusual to crave sugar when giving up booze. Know that it’s normal and reward yourself with a fun dessert after achieving a set period of sobriety.
  • Plan alternative activities. Been meaning to organize the garage or pick up your watercolor set again? A dry week or month is a great time to do it. Alternative hobbies can fill the time once taken by drinking and can also help mark a transition to relaxation in the day. Even a postwork or postdinner walk can help.
  • Come up with a prepared response to why you aren’t drinking. “I’m doing Dry *insert month here*” is a quick way to shut down intrusive questions. Or prepare a breezy, low-stakes canned explanation, like, “I have to be up early tomorrow.”
  • Pay attention to temptation. When do you want to drink? What triggers the urge? Cutting back can reveal areas where you might need alternative methods for coping with stress.
  • Note the benefits. Taking the time to notice changes in sleep, energy, or other health effects can be motivating—and informative for life after the abstinence challenge.

Further reading

Self-reported alcohol consumption during participation in a text messaging-based online drinking moderation platform

Vadhan, N. P., et al. Alcohol, Clinical & Experimental Research, 2024

Temporary abstinence during Dry January: Predictors of success; impact on well-being and self-efficacy

de Visser, R. O., & Nicholls, J. Psychology & Health, 2020

Short- and longer-term benefits of temporary alcohol abstinence during ‘Dry January’ are not also observed among adult drinkers in the general population: Prospective cohort study

de Visser, R. O., & Piper, R. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 2020

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2025/01/sober-curious-alcohol-moderation