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5 Benefits of Quitting Booze with Sober Girl Society’s Millie Gooch

Riannon Chaplin
Millie Gooch talks about founding Sober Girls Society

Riannon Chaplin

Like the sound of never having a hangover again? What about saving money and getting better sleep? I chatted with Millie Gooch, founder of Sober Girl Society, to hear the benefits of quitting alcohol.

Drinking alcohol carries long-term risks such as cancer, heart disease and liver problems. However, quitting or cutting down can bring a whole host of benefits. This is especially important for young people: although the 18-24 age group is the least likely to drink, they also have the highest rate of binge drinking and alcohol dependence.

As the founder of Sober Girl Society (SGS), Millie Gooch knows this better than most. SGS is the largest community for sober and sober-curious women globally, providing tips, resources and events from “boozeless” brunches to fitness classes and virtual workshops. They show it’s possible to live a fun and fulfilling life without alcohol.

Gooch became sober in February 2018 at age 26, after waking up with yet another terrible hangover and no memory of the night before. She is now an ambassador for the charity Alcohol Change UK, published the Sober Girl Society Handbook in 2021 and co-founded Dry Disco last year as an alcohol-free festival at London’s Ministry of Sound nightclub.

From clearer skin and a settled stomach to a better night’s sleep, here’s Gooch’s run down on going sober…

1. Hangovers Will Be A Distant Memory

This may seem obvious, but hangovers – the symptoms we feel while the body processes alcohol – have a major impact on our wellbeing. From headaches, fatigue and nausea to memory problems and irritability, hangover symptoms can last for up to a day or longer after we’ve processed all the alcohol. Fewer hangovers will mean a clearer head, better mood and more energy, which is one of the main health benefits Gooch has noticed. And hangovers don’t just harm our physical health – they can also cause ‘hangxiety’, a feeling of overwhelm and worry about what happened the night before.

2. Your Mental Health May Improve

This is because alcohol is a depressant, meaning regular heavy drinking can interfere with the chemicals in the brain and slow down the processes of the central nervous system (CNS). This can contribute to feelings of anxiety, depression and stress, and exacerbate
existing mental health issues. This was the main reason Gooch went sober. She had gained a reputation for drinking at university and regularly blacked out, not remembering how she got home. This pattern continued into her twenties as her binge drinking became more dangerous.

“Alcohol hushed a lot of my insecurities and made me chattier, less inhibited,” she explains. “Unfortunately, it really exacerbated my anxiety and my depression in the long run.” While drinking can make us feel relaxed initially, this wears off quickly – and the higher our tolerance for alcohol becomes, the more we need to drink to achieve the same effect. This can lead to dependence, creating a vicious circle whereby we use alcohol to treat symptoms of anxiety or depression while simultaneously exacerbating them.

3. Say Hello To Better Sleep

Even small amounts of alcohol can affect the quality of our sleep. That’s because alcohol disrupts the sleep cycle, causing sluggishness and affecting everything from energy levels to decision-making and problem-solving. “I’m actually the best sleeper I know,” says Gooch. “I always manage a solid 8 hours, and I rarely wake up in the middle of the night now.”

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking a drink will help you fall asleep more quickly, but this means skipping the vital rapid eye movement (REM) cycle, which helps with memory consolidation, emotional processing and brain development. Spending less time in this stage lowers sleep quality, which can also contribute to anxiety and depression.

4. Better Hydration Means Better Skin

Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it causes dehydration, which means your skin loses the fluid and nutrients that make it healthy. Regular drinking can lead to dull, wrinkled or puffy skin. The effect of alcohol on the immune system can also make the skin more prone to conditions like psoriasis and rosacea, and Gooch noticed an improvement in her eczema when she stopped drinking. Cutting down on alcohol or quitting entirely means you’ll absorb more water, meaning increased skin cell turnover which contributes to a healthy glow. You might even save money on skincare products!

5. You’ll Save Your Stomach Some Strife

Because the body recognises that alcohol is a poison, it prioritises getting rid of it ahead of other processes such as absorbing nutrients. On average, it takes the body about an hour to process one unit of alcohol, meaning it takes over two hours to process a 175ml glass of average-strength wine. Drinking therefore irritates your stomach, which is part of the gastrointestinal tract system that absorbs nutrients and discards waste. The stomach adds acids and enzymes to the food and drinks we consume to break them down.

As well as making it harder for the body to absorb vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals, regular heavy drinking can cause acid reflux and heartburn as stomach acid rises up to the throat. Some evidence even suggests alcohol can cause gastritis, causing inflammation of the stomach lining due to the increased production of acid.

Worth It

“I’m a much better friend and daughter now”

Gooch knows how daunting the prospect of cutting down on alcohol or quitting completely can be, but she believes the physical and mental health benefits are worth it. She recommends having honest conversations with those around you. “I thought my decision would negatively impact my relationships, but it’s only been positive,” she tells me. “I’m a much better friend and daughter now – I’m always present!”

Finding a community of like-minded people to help you navigate drinking culture, such as SGS, can also make the transition smoother. Gooch describes why female community is so important to her:

“I just think women are incredible,” she explains. ‘They’re so smart, funny and kind. When you put a bunch of them in one room, it’s honestly just magical.”

*The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk guidelines for men and women recommend no more than 14 units of alcohol per week spread over at least three days, with non-drinking days and no bingeing.

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Featured image courtesy of Club Soda Guide via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

Riannon is a trainee journalist from Essex with a degree in History from Cambridge University. She is especially interested in social affairs, particularly education, disability and health and wellbeing.

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