Dry January has become a popular way to reset after the holidays and rethink what a healthier, more intentional relationship with alcohol could look like.
To understand how people are approaching the challenge and what it might signal for the rest of the year, Drive Research surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults.
Here are the key Dry January and Damp January stats, plus what they suggest about where drinking habits may be headed next.
– 1 in 3 people participated in Dry January (33%) in 2025
– Most who participated in Dry January completed successfully (72%)
– Of those who failed Dry January, 1 in 5 quit the first (11%) or second week (10%)
– Damp January participation increased to 15% in 2025, up from 11% in 2024
– 48% say they plan to consume less alcohol, while only 5% expect to drink more
Dry January is a personal challenge where people choose to avoid alcohol for the month of January. Many do it to reset habits after the holidays, see how they feel without drinking, and start the year with a clearer sense of their health and routines.
It can also be a simple way to test your relationship with alcohol without making a long-term commitment.
In 2025, 1 in 3 people participated in Dry January (33%), with most completing it successfully (72%).
An additional 15% participated in “Damp January” in 2025 which is a modified version of Dry January where people reduce alcohol consumption instead of cutting it out completely.
Of those that started Dry January in 2025, nearly 3 in 10 failed to complete it (28%). A fifth of people gave up in the first (11%) or second week (10%) of January, while others gave up the third (7%) or fourth week (1%).
Dry January can help people reset habits and feel the day-to-day upsides of drinking less, even if they do not plan to cut alcohol long-term.
In our survey on why people reach for NA beer, spirits, or mocktails, nearly half cited health and wellness (48%) and many said they do it because they do not like being hungover (46%), which aligns closely with the motivations behind a month off alcohol.
Others pointed to practical and quality-of-life benefits like getting home safely (36%), improving sleep (32%), and saving money (31%).
Taken together, these reasons suggest Dry January is often less about a strict rule and more about feeling better, sleeping better, and starting the year with more control and intention.
For a lot of people, Dry January is the moment they pause and take a quick, honest look at their habits. The bigger takeaway is not just whether someone made it through the month, but whether the experiment changes how they want to drink moving forward.
It is a low-pressure way to ask, “What do I actually want my relationship with alcohol to look like this year?”
When asked about the next 12 months, 48% say they plan to consume less alcohol, while only 5% expect to drink more. It appears that Dry January can be the start of a broader, more personalized reset, one that lasts well beyond the calendar flip to February.
Looking further ahead, 47% agree alcohol consumption will be viewed more negatively over the next 20 years, similar to the perception shift of cigarettes.
Only 23% disagree, while 30% are neutral. This suggests people expect more caution and more thoughtful norms around drinking, even if alcohol remains part of social life.
The findings in this article are based on an online survey conducted by Drive Research with 1,000 U.S. adults. Using a probabilistic framework as a reference, a sample of this size carries a margin of error of approximately +/- 3% at the 95% confidence level.
Drive Research is a global market research company specializing in custom-built, quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Our market research firm takes pride in making organizations more successful by extracting insights from the data we collect to accelerate business strategy.
