Dry January has become an increasingly popular idea for adults in the US, and a pretty healthy one at that. Alcohol is still the most popular drug of choice in this country, and its effects on sleep and our health are pretty well established, so having 30 days off can do lots for your body.
The problem is that alcohol is so ingrained in our culture. It’s how we relax, it’s how we socialize, it’s how we loosen up. So to just cut it out means the creation of a void. A poll by Civic Science has attempted to find out exactly what people were filling that void with.
Unsurprisingly, 21% of those taking place in the survey said they were replacing alcohol with marijuana this month. That’s the highest answer next to not replacing it with anything at 33%.
However, the numbers get more interesting when looking at the age breakdown. Cannabis remained one of the main replacements with the age brackets of 21-24, 25-34, and 35-54. It was rarely the answer for people above the age of 55, which is expected.
In many ways, marijuana is a much healthier alternative to alcohol, so this is a nice pattern to see. The science on how it effects our sleep is still up in the air, but in every other factor, marijuana comes out on top.
Read the full breakdown of the statistics at Civic Science.
