Today is the first day of October, and across the UK thousands of people have just put the wine away for a month. Macmillan Cancer Support's Go Sober for October asks people to go alcohol free for 31 days and raise money for people living with cancer. If you've signed up, good on you. If you haven't, you can still join at gosober.org.uk.
Day one is easy. Day four, at about seven in the evening, is not.
Why the evening glass is the hardest one to give up
For most of us the evening drink isn't really about the alcohol. It's about the moment. The fridge door, the pour, the first sip that tells you the day is done. Take the drink away and the moment goes with it, and that empty space is where most sober months start to wobble.
What alcohol does to your night
A lot of people reach for a glass because it seems to help them drop off. Research backs up the first part: alcohol can shorten the time it takes to fall asleep. The cost comes later in the night. A 2024 review and meta-analysis in Sleep Medicine Reviews found that even a low dose in the three hours before bed delays and shortens REM sleep, and the authors concluded that using alcohol as a sleep aid isn't a sound strategy.
A 2026 review in Nutrients points out that sleep guidance from bodies such as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises against drinking in the hours before bed, and that not drinking at all is the most protective choice for your night.
So a month off is a good chance to see how your evenings feel without it.
How to replace the ritual, not just the drink
The trick is to keep the moment and change what's in the glass. Here are five ways to do it.
1. Keep the time slot
If you'd normally pour at eight, pour something at eight. Keeping the cue in place makes the change far easier than leaving a gap where the habit used to be.
2. Make it feel like a treat
Use the good glass. Sit in the same chair. Put a record on. A swap only sticks if it feels like an upgrade, not a punishment.
3. Choose something you actually look forward to
Herbal tea is lovely, but it rarely feels like an occasion. That's why we made Sleep Toniq: a can of chamomile, honey, apple cider vinegar and orange, made to open at the start of the evening. Have it chilled straight from the fridge, or pour it into a mug and warm it gently for a nightcap.
4. Build the rest of your evening around it
Once the drink is open, let it mark the start of your nightcare: the things you do to wind down before bed. Lights low, phone away. Pick up a book (here are 10 ways to get into bedtime reading), try a few minutes of breathwork, or work on putting the phone down for the night. A sober evening with something to do in it is far easier than one spent waiting for bedtime.
5. Tell someone
A sober month is easier with company. Tell the people you'd usually share a bottle with, ask them to join you, or set up a fundraising page so there's a reason to keep going when Friday night comes round.
Make it more than a month
Thirty-one evenings is long enough to build a new habit. If the new moment sticks, you may find you don't miss the old one by Halloween.
Going sober this October? Try Sleep Toniq and make the first part of your evening something to look forward to.
