Alcohol-free days

How many alcohol-free days a week?

Official UK advice is to keep to no more than 14 units a week and, if you want to cut down, to have several drink-free days each week. Here's what that means in practice, why drink-free days help, and how to pick and keep yours.

Updated 27 October 2026 · 5-minute read · VANTH Studio, The Netherlands

What the guidelines say

The UK low-risk drinking guidelines, summarised by the NHS, say that to keep health risks low if you drink most weeks:

• men and women should not regularly drink more than 14 units a week;
• if you drink as much as 14 units a week, spread it over three or more days;
• if you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week.

Fourteen units is roughly 6 pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of lower-strength wine. Other countries count in "standard drinks" of different sizes and set different limits, so check the advice where you live. The US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) adds an important point: harms may be associated with any amount of drinking, and risk rises as the amount rises.

Why alcohol-free days help

Drinkaware lists several reasons to take more drink-free days each week:

• Fewer empty calories, which helps you maintain a healthy weight.
• Lower risk of liver disease. Liver damage often has no symptoms until it's serious.
• Better blood pressure. Regular drinking is a common cause of high blood pressure.
• Better sleep and mood. Alcohol disrupts the sleep your body needs, and both alcohol and poor sleep are linked to anxiety and depression.

There's also a practical benefit: drink-free days show you which evenings feel hard without a drink, and that tells you where your habit is strongest.

How many should you aim for?

Start from where you are, not from an ideal:

• If you drink most days, begin with two or three alcohol-free days a week. Make at least one of them a day you'd usually drink.
• If you already have a few, add one more, or make two of them back-to-back.
• If you drink mainly at weekends, look at how much you drink on those days, not just how many days you drink. Saving up units for one or two heavy sessions isn't the same as cutting down.

NIAAA's advice for cutting down is to set goals: decide how many days a week you want to drink and how many drinks you'll have on those days. Then check after a few weeks whether the goal still fits.

Making drink-free days stick

• Pick the days in advance instead of deciding each evening. A decision made on Sunday is easier to keep on Wednesday.
• Plan the moment you'd usually drink. Have a different drink ready, schedule something, or eat at a different time.
• Keep less alcohol at home. If it isn't in the fridge, the default changes.
• Track it. NIAAA suggests keeping track of your drinking in a way that suits you, from check marks on a calendar to notes on your phone.
• Expect urges on the first few drink-free evenings and have a plan. See how long alcohol cravings last.

Alcohol-free days in LastGlass