Measuring Progress: How to Know If Dry January Is Working

You’re one week into Dry January. But how do you know if it’s actually working?

Counting days is satisfying, but it’s not the most useful metric. The point of Dry January isn’t to collect sober days like points—it’s to learn something about yourself and experience the benefits that come from giving your body and brain a break from alcohol.

Those benefits can be subtle, especially if you weren’t a heavy drinker. They can also be drowned out by other factors (stress, illness, poor sleep habits unrelated to alcohol). Without intentional tracking, it’s easy to finish the month unsure whether it made a difference.

This guide will help you measure what actually matters—and notice changes you might otherwise miss.

Why “Not Drinking” Isn’t Enough to Track

Let’s say you complete Dry January successfully. No alcohol for 31 days. Is that a success?

Maybe. But you don’t actually know unless you paid attention to what changed.

Consider two people who both finish the month:

Person A didn’t drink but didn’t track anything else. They vaguely feel like they might have slept better some nights. They think they might have more energy? It’s hard to say. January was stressful for other reasons. They’re not sure the month was worth it, and they don’t have strong reasons to change their drinking habits going forward.

Person B tracked their sleep quality, mood, energy, and anxiety levels throughout the month. They can see clearly that their sleep improved dramatically in week two, that their morning energy is consistently higher, and that their baseline anxiety dropped noticeably by week three. They also noticed that their cravings were strongest on stressful work days—useful information about what they were using alcohol to manage. They have concrete data to inform their choices going forward.

Same behavior. Very different outcomes.

The tracking doesn’t have to be elaborate. But some intentional attention to changes makes the month dramatically more valuable.

What to Track During Dry January

Here are the dimensions worth paying attention to, along with simple ways to track them:

1. Sleep Quality

This is often the most measurable benefit of not drinking. But “sleep quality” is vague. Get specific:

Track these:

• How long it takes to fall asleep (estimate in minutes)
• Number of times you wake up during the night
• How you feel when you wake up (1-10 scale)
• Energy levels mid-morning (1-10 scale)
• Any vivid dreams (common during REM rebound)

What to look for:

• Week 1 might be rough—this is adjustment, not failure
• By week 2, you should see improvements in falling asleep and staying asleep
• By week 3-4, morning energy and waking feeling should be noticeably better

Simple tracking method: Each morning, take 30 seconds to rate your sleep on a 1-10 scale and note any patterns. That’s enough.

2. Mood and Emotional State

Alcohol affects mood in complex ways—it provides short-term relief while often worsening longer-term emotional regulation. Pay attention to both the acute and cumulative effects.

Track these:

• Overall mood each day (1-10 scale)
• Anxiety levels (1-10 scale)
• Irritability or emotional reactivity
• Moments of feeling unusually good or clear

What to look for:

• Early days might include more irritability or mood swings (adjustment)
• By week 2-3, many people notice more stable moods
• Anxiety often improves significantly, especially if you experienced “hangxiety”
• Some people notice they feel emotions more intensely—both positive and negative

Simple tracking method: At the end of each day, jot down a mood number and a one-sentence note about your emotional state. Look for patterns over time.

3. Energy Levels

This goes beyond sleep. Alcohol affects metabolism, blood sugar, hydration, and overall vitality.

Track these:

• Morning energy (before caffeine)
• Afternoon energy (the 2-4 PM slump)
• Overall stamina throughout the day
• Exercise performance (if you work out)

What to look for:

• More consistent energy without the peaks and crashes
• Less reliance on caffeine to function
• Better workouts or physical endurance
• Fewer “couch days” where you just can’t

Simple tracking method: Rate your energy at three points each day: morning, afternoon, evening. A simple 1-10 or even low/medium/high works.

4. Mental Clarity and Cognitive Function

Even moderate drinking affects cognitive function—memory, concentration, decision-making. The effects are subtle but cumulative.

Track these:

• Ability to focus at work
• Memory (forgetting things, losing track of conversations)
• Decision fatigue
• Creative thinking or problem-solving

What to look for:

• Sharper thinking, especially in the mornings
• Improved concentration at work
• Less “brain fog”
• Better recall of conversations and commitments

Simple tracking method: This one is harder to quantify. A weekly reflection—”How was my mental clarity this week?”—is often enough to notice trends.

5. Cravings and Triggers

This might be the most valuable thing to track because it teaches you about yourself.

Track these:

• When cravings hit (time of day, day of week)
• What triggered them (stress, social situation, boredom, habit)
• How intense they are (1-10)
• What you did instead

What to look for:

• Patterns in when and why you want to drink
• Whether cravings decrease over time (they usually do)
• Specific situations that are hardest (these are your triggers)
• What substitutes or strategies actually help

Simple tracking method: When you notice a craving, take 30 seconds to note when, what triggered it, and how strong it was. This creates incredibly useful data.

6. Physical Changes

These are the most visible benefits, and they’re satisfying to notice.

Track these:

• Weight (if you’re interested—optional)
• Skin quality
• Bloating or puffiness
• Hydration levels
• Digestive issues

What to look for:

• Weight loss (common, not guaranteed)
• Clearer, more hydrated-looking skin
• Reduced puffiness, especially in the face
• Better digestion
• More consistent hydration

Simple tracking method: A weekly photo and weekly weigh-in (if you care about weight) are enough. Skin and physical changes become apparent over weeks, not days.

A Simple Tracking System

You don’t need an elaborate spreadsheet. Here’s a minimal approach that takes less than two minutes per day:

Daily (30 seconds each morning)

Rate these on a 1-10 scale:

• Sleep quality last night
• Morning energy
• Mood

That’s it for most days.

When Cravings Hit

Note:

• Time and context
• Trigger (stress, habit, social, boredom, emotional)
• Intensity (1-10)

Weekly (5 minutes on Sunday)

Reflect on:

• Overall energy this week compared to last
• Mood patterns
• Mental clarity
• Physical changes
• Strongest cravings and what triggered them
• What you’re learning about yourself

This minimal system creates enough data to see real patterns without becoming burdensome.

What “Working” Actually Looks Like

Let’s talk about realistic expectations for each week:

Week 1: Adjustment (Not Yet “Working”)

What to expect:

• Sleep may be worse before it gets better
• Mood might be irritable or flat
• Energy might dip
• Cravings are often strongest
• You might wonder if this is worth it

Don’t panic. This isn’t the month failing—it’s your body adjusting. If you typically drink several times a week, your system has adapted to expect alcohol. Removing it creates temporary disruption.

Signs of progress in week 1:

• You’re making it through each day
• You’re noticing when and why you want to drink
• You’re starting to establish new evening routines

Week 2: Stabilization (Early Benefits)

What to expect:

• Sleep starts improving
• Mood stabilizes
• Energy becomes more consistent
• Cravings are less intense (though still present)
• You start noticing benefits

Signs of progress in week 2:

• Sleeping more soundly
• Morning energy improving
• Less “hangxiety” on mornings after you would have drunk
• Cravings are there but manageable

Week 3: Benefits (This Is “Working”)

What to expect:

• Sleep quality significantly better
• Stable, improved mood
• Better energy throughout the day
• Clearer thinking
• Physical changes becoming visible
• Cravings much less frequent

Signs of progress in week 3:

• You wake up feeling rested
• Your skin looks better
• You have more patience and emotional stability
• You might feel like you don’t miss alcohol that much

Week 4: Integration (New Baseline)

What to expect:

• Benefits are established and clear
• You have real data on how alcohol affects you
• You can make informed decisions about February
• Some people feel great; others are ready for it to end

Signs of progress in week 4:

• Clear improvement across multiple metrics
• Understanding of your personal triggers and patterns
• Informed perspective on your relationship with alcohol
• Sense of accomplishment (whatever your feelings about continuing)

When Progress Doesn’t Look Like This

Not everyone follows the standard trajectory. Here are some variations and what they might mean:

“I don’t feel that different”

If you were a light drinker (one or two drinks a few times a week), the changes might be subtle. That’s okay. The month is still valuable—you now know that your drinking wasn’t significantly affecting your sleep, mood, or energy. That’s useful information.

Alternatively, other factors might be drowning out the benefits. If January was unusually stressful, if you got sick, if you’re dealing with other health issues—these can mask the improvements from not drinking.

“I feel worse, not better”

A few possibilities:

You’re still in adjustment. Some people take longer to stabilize, especially if they were drinking more heavily.

Alcohol was masking something. If you feel more anxious or depressed without alcohol, that might indicate underlying anxiety or depression that alcohol was temporarily suppressing. This isn’t Dry January causing a problem—it’s revealing one that was already there.

You’re dealing with withdrawal. If you were drinking heavily daily, you might experience real withdrawal symptoms. These should improve after week 1-2. If they don’t, or if they’re severe, talk to a healthcare provider.

“Some things are better, but I’m more anxious”

Very common. Alcohol is effective at reducing anxiety in the short term. Without it, you’re feeling your actual anxiety levels—which might be higher than you realized.

This is valuable information, even if it’s uncomfortable. It might mean you want to address your anxiety directly rather than continuing to manage it with alcohol.

“I feel great but I can’t wait to drink again”

This tension is worth exploring. If you’re experiencing clear benefits but still strongly craving alcohol, that says something about the role alcohol plays in your life beyond its physical effects.

It might be social (drinking is part of how you connect). It might be psychological (you’ve come to associate relaxation with alcohol). It might be habitual (the ritual matters). Understanding why you want to drink even when you feel better without it can inform healthier choices.

What to Do with What You Learn

By the end of January, you’ll have data. Here’s how to use it:

If the benefits are clear and significant

You now know that alcohol was affecting your sleep, energy, mood, or mental clarity. You get to decide what to do with that information.

Options:

• Continue not drinking (some people feel so much better they don’t want to go back)
• Drink less frequently
• Drink in different contexts (social only, weekends only, etc.)
• Pay attention to which drinks affect you most

If you learned you were using alcohol to cope

This is one of the most valuable realizations. If your craving data shows you reaching for alcohol when stressed, anxious, lonely, or bored, you now understand the function alcohol serves in your life.

Options:

• Develop alternative coping strategies for those triggers
• Address the underlying issues (stress, anxiety, loneliness)
• Talk to a therapist about healthier coping mechanisms
• Continue to monitor your drinking patterns with awareness

If the month was harder than expected

Difficulty can indicate that alcohol plays a bigger role in your life than you realized. This isn’t failure—it’s information.

Options:

• Consider whether you want support to change your drinking habits
• Talk to a healthcare provider about your experience
• Explore whether underlying mental health issues might benefit from treatment
• Plan for a longer period without alcohol to fully adjust

If you’re unsure

That’s okay too. January is just one data point. You might want to:

• Try another month later in the year for comparison
• Continue tracking some metrics while you resume drinking to see what changes
• Reflect on what additional information would help you decide