Nearly half of Americans pledged they were going to drink less alcohol in 2025.
近一半的美国人承诺将在2025年减少饮酒量。
Alcohol has many negative effects on our health, including short-term impacts such as headaches, anxiety and dehydration, to long-term effects like cancer.
酒精对我们的健康有许多负面影响，包括头痛、焦虑和脱水等短期影响，以及癌症等长期影响。
The World Health Organization warns that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for health and it is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the US, behind tobacco.
世界卫生组织警告称，任何水平的酒精摄入都不利于健康，它是美国仅次于烟草的主要可预防死亡原因之一。
Currently, alcohol guidelines in the US are no more than one daily drink or 7 weekly drinks for women and no more than two daily drinks or 14 weekly drinks for men.
目前，美国的饮酒指南建议女性每日不超过一杯酒或每周不超过七杯酒，男性每日不超过两杯酒或每周不超过十四杯酒。
But abstaining from alcohol - even for a few days - can bring various physical and mental health benefits.
但即使只是几天不饮酒，也能带来各种身心健康益处。
If you are thinking about taking time off alcohol, you'll find many quick wins and long-term gains for your health.
如果您考虑戒酒一段时间，您会发现这对您的健康有很多快速和长期的好处。
How long will you have to wait to feel the benefits?
您需要等待多久才能感受到这些益处呢？
Experts have compiled a timeline — based on scientific research — that shows what you might feel in the first days, weeks, months and years after going sober.
专家们根据科学研究编制了一个时间表，展示了在戒酒后的最初几天、几周、几个月和几年内您可能会感受到的变化。
Some benefits start immediately, so every day without alcohol is a win for your health.
一些益处立即显现，因此戒酒的每一天都是对您健康的胜利。
After one day
一天后
Alcohol takes around 24 hours to completely leave your body, so you may start noticing improvements after just one day.
酒精需要大约24小时才能完全从您的体内清除，因此您可能在仅仅一天后就开始注意到改善。
Alcohol makes you need to urinate more often, causing dehydration. But your body can absorb a glass of water almost immediately, so once alcohol is out of your system, alcohol dehydration is reduced, improving digestion, brain function and energy levels.
酒精使您需要更频繁地排尿，导致脱水。但您的身体几乎可以立即吸收一杯水，因此一旦酒精从您的系统中清除，酒精引起的脱水就会减少，从而改善消化、大脑功能和能量水平。
Alcohol also reduces the liver's ability to regulate blood sugar. Once alcohol leaves the system, blood sugar begins to normalize.
酒精还会降低肝脏调节血糖的能力。一旦酒精离开系统，血糖开始恢复正常。
If you are a daily drinker you may feel a bit worse to start with while your body adjusts to not having alcohol in its system all the time.
如果您是每日饮酒者，在身体适应不再一直有酒精进入系统的过程中，您可能会开始感觉更糟一些。
You may initially notice disrupted sleep, mood changes, sweating or tremors. Most symptoms usually resolve in about a week without alcohol.
您可能会最初注意到睡眠紊乱、情绪变化、出汗或震颤。大多数症状通常在一周内无酒精的情况下得到缓解。
After one week
一周后
Even though alcohol can make you feel sleepy at first, it disrupts your sleep cycle. By the end of an alcohol-free week, you may notice you are more energetic in the mornings as a result of getting better quality sleep.
尽管酒精最初可能让您感到困倦，但它会扰乱您的睡眠周期。在一个无酒精的一周结束时，由于获得了更好的睡眠质量，您可能会注意到早晨更加精力充沛。
As the body's filter, the liver does much of the heavy lifting in processing alcohol and can be easily damaged even with moderate drinking.
作为身体的过滤器，肝脏在处理酒精方面承担了大部分工作，即使适度饮酒也容易受到损害。
The liver is important for cleaning blood, processing nutrients and producing bile that helps with digestion.
肝脏对于清洁血液、处理营养物质和产生有助于消化的胆汁非常重要。
But it can also regenerate quickly. If you have only mild damage in the liver, seven days may be enough to reduce liver fat and heal mild scarring and tissue damage.
但它也能迅速再生。如果您的肝脏只有轻微损伤，七天可能就足以减少肝脏脂肪并治愈轻微的瘢痕和组织损伤。
Even small amounts of alcohol can impair brain functioning. So quitting can help improve brain health within a few days in light to moderate drinkers and within a month even for very heavy dependent drinkers.
即使是少量的酒精也会损害大脑功能。因此，戒酒可以帮助轻度至中度饮酒者在几天内改善大脑健康，对于非常重度依赖的饮酒者，一个月内也能改善。
After one month
一个月后
Alcohol can make managing mood harder and worsen symptoms of anxiety and depression. After a few weeks, most people start to feel better. Even very heavy drinkers report better mood after one to two months.
酒精会使情绪管理变得更加困难，并加重焦虑和抑郁的症状。几周后，大多数人开始感觉更好。即使是重度饮酒者，在一到两个月后也会报告情绪有所改善。
As your sleep and mood improve you may also notice more energy and greater wellbeing.
随着睡眠和情绪的改善，您可能会注意到更多的精力和更大的幸福感。
After a month of abstinence regular drinkers also report feeling more confident about making changes to how they drink.
戒酒一个月后，规律饮酒者也报告说对自己改变饮酒方式更有信心。
You may lose weight and body fat. Alcohol can trigger hunger reward systems, making us overeat or choose less healthy foods when drinking.
您可能会减轻体重和体脂。酒精可以触发饥饿奖励系统，使我们在饮酒时吃得过多或选择不太健康的食物。
Even your skin will thank you. Alcohol can make you look older through dehydration and inflammation, which can be reversed when you quit.
即使您的皮肤也会因此受益。酒精通过脱水和炎症使您看起来更老，戒酒后这种状况可以逆转。
Alcohol irritates the gut and disrupts normal stomach functioning, causing bloating, indigestion, heartburn and diarrhea. These symptoms usually start to resolve within four weeks.
酒精刺激肠道并扰乱正常的胃功能，导致腹胀、消化不良、胃灼热和腹泻。这些症状通常在四周内开始缓解。
One month of abstinence, insulin resistance — which can lead to high blood sugar — significantly reduces by 25 percent. Blood pressure also reduces (by six percent) and cancer-related growth factors declines, lowering your risk of cancer.
戒酒一个月后，胰岛素抵抗（可能导致高血糖）显著减少25%。血压也降低了（降低6%），与癌症相关的生长因子下降，降低了患癌症的风险。
It can take up to three days for the body to return to normal functioning following a two-day boozy drinking session, experts say.
专家表示，经过两天的饮酒后，身体可能需要长达三天的时间才能恢复到正常功能。
After six months
六个月后
The liver starts to repair within weeks. For moderate drinkers, damage to your liver could be fully reversed by six months.
肝脏在几周内开始修复。对于适度饮酒者，肝脏的损伤可能在六个月内完全逆转。
At this point, even heavy drinkers may notice they're better at fighting infections and feel healthier overall.
此时，即使是重度饮酒者也可能注意到他们对抗感染的能力增强，整体感觉更健康。
After one year or more
一年或更长时间后
Alcohol contributes to or causes a large number of chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and seven different types of cancer, as well as mental health issues. All of these risks can be reduced by quitting or cutting back on alcohol.
酒精会导致或促成大量慢性疾病，包括心脏病、中风、2型糖尿病和七种不同类型的癌症，以及心理健康问题。通过戒酒或减少饮酒，所有这些风险都可以降低。
Alcohol increases blood pressure. High blood pressure (hypertension) is the top risk factor for death in the world. A small 2mmHg increase in blood pressure above the normal range (120mmHG) increases death from stroke by 10 percent and from coronary artery disease by seven percent.
酒精会升高血压。高血压是全球死亡的首要风险因素。血压超过正常范围（120毫米汞柱）仅增加2毫米汞柱，就会使中风导致的死亡率增加10%，冠状动脉疾病导致的死亡率增加7%。
Cutting back on alcohol to less than two drinks a day can reduce blood pressure significantly, reducing risk of stroke and heart disease.
将每日饮酒量减少到两杯以下可以显著降低血压，从而减少中风和心脏病的风险。
Reducing blood pressure also reduces risk of kidney disease, eye problems and even erectile dysfunction.
降低血压还可以减少肾脏疾病、眼部问题，甚至勃起功能障碍的风险。
With sustained abstinence, your risk of getting any type of cancer drops. One study looked at cancer risk for more than 4 million adults over three to seven years and found the risk of alcohol-related cancer dropped by 4 percent, even for light drinkers who quit. Reducing from heavy to moderate drinking reduced alcohol-related cancer risk by nine percent.
持续戒酒后，患任何类型癌症的风险都会下降。一项研究对超过400万成年人进行了三到七年的跟踪，发现即使是戒酒的轻度饮酒者，酒精相关癌症的风险也下降了4%。从重度饮酒减少到适度饮酒，酒精相关癌症的风险降低了9%。
This article is adapted from The Conversation, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to sharing the knowledge of experts. It was written by Nicole Lee, an adjunct professor at the National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University, and Katinka van de Ven, an alcohol and other drug specialist at the University of New South Wales Sydney.
本文改编自《对话》，这是一家致力于分享专家知识的非营利新闻组织。文章由科廷大学国家药物研究研究所的兼职教授Nicole Lee和新南威尔士大学悉尼分校的酒精及其他药物专家Katinka van de Ven撰写。
DO YOU DRINK TOO MUCH ALCOHOL? THE 10 QUESTIONS THAT REVEAL YOUR RISK
您饮酒过多吗？这10个问题可以揭示您的风险
One screening tool used widely by medical professionals is the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Tests). Developed in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, the 10-question test is considered to be the gold standard in helping to determine if someone has alcohol abuse problems.
医疗专业人员广泛使用的一种筛查工具是AUDIT（酒精使用障碍识别测试）。该测试由世界卫生组织合作开发，包含10个问题，被认为是帮助确定某人是否有酗酒问题的黄金标准。
The test has been reproduced here with permission from the WHO.
经世界卫生组织许可，此处复制了该测试。
To complete it, answer each question and note down the corresponding score.
要完成测试，请回答每个问题并记录相应的分数。
YOUR SCORE:
您的分数：
0-7: You are within the sensible drinking range and have a low risk of alcohol-related problems.
0-7：您处于合理饮酒范围内，酒精相关问题的风险较低。
Over 8: Indicate harmful or hazardous drinking.
超过8：表示有害或危险的饮酒行为。
8-15: Medium level of risk. Drinking at your current level puts you at risk of developing problems with your health and life in general, such as work and relationships. Consider cutting down (see below for tips).
8-15：中等风险水平。以您目前的饮酒水平，可能会导致健康和生活中的问题，例如工作和人际关系。考虑减少饮酒（见下文提示）。
16-19: Higher risk of complications from alcohol. Cutting back on your own may be difficult at this level, as you may be dependent, so you may need professional help from your GP and/or a counsellor.
16-19：酒精并发症的高风险。在这个水平上，自行减少饮酒可能很困难，因为您可能已经产生依赖，因此可能需要全科医生和/或顾问的专业帮助。
20 and over: Possible dependence. Your drinking is already causing you problems, and you could very well be dependent. You should definitely consider stopping gradually or at least reduce your drinking. You should seek professional help to ascertain the level of your dependence and the safest way to withdraw from alcohol.
20及以上：可能产生依赖。您的饮酒已经给您带来问题，很可能已经产生依赖。您应考虑逐渐戒酒或至少减少饮酒量。您应寻求专业帮助，以确定您的依赖程度和最安全的戒酒方式。
Severe dependence may need medically assisted withdrawal, or detox, in a hospital or a specialist clinic. This is due to the likelihood of severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the first 48 hours needing specialist treatment.
严重依赖可能需要在医院或专科诊所进行医疗协助戒断或排毒。这是因为前48小时内可能出现严重的酒精戒断症状，需要专科治疗。
【全文结束】
