How many drink-free days a week should you have?
The UK Chief Medical Officers advise having several drink-free days each week. They give no exact number, and the NHS suggests at least a few. (NHS) If you are cutting back, two or three planned days off a week is a practical place to start.
The advice sits alongside the 14-unit weekly guideline. The Chief Medical Officers describe drink-free days as a good way to cut down, and they ask people who do drink up to 14 units to spread them over three or more days. (UK Chief Medical Officers’ report, 2016)
Where to find your drink-free days
Start with the drinks you didn’t really choose: the glass poured while cooking on a Tuesday, or the one opened because the bottle was already in the fridge. Taking out those midweek drinks often does most of the work, and the evenings you enjoy most stay as they are.
How many alcohol-free days does your liver need?
No UK health body gives a number of days that “cleanses” the liver. Drinkaware says several drink-free days each week lower the risk of liver disease, and the NHS says that where drinking has caused a fatty liver, the liver can usually recover if you stop drinking. (Drinkaware, NHS)
What matters more is the total across the week. Days off that lead to a heavier Saturday save little, since more than 8 units in a session for men, or 6 for women, counts as binge drinking.
Making them stick
- choose your drink-free days at the start of the week rather than deciding each evening
- pick days with no social plans, so a night off costs you nothing
- have something you enjoy ready to drink instead, whether that is a good alcohol-free beer or a sparkling water with lime
If a week doesn’t go to plan, the NHS advice is simply to start again the next week. To see how your current week adds up, see UK alcohol guidelines explained.