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May 9, 2014

Strange But True!

Q. Fourteen New Scientist magazine staffers recently decided to participate in a study on the effect of giving up drinking for a full month. Ten of them abstained from alcohol and the other four served as the control group, not changing their drinking habits at all. What happened?

A. Although there were no significant changes among the four “normal” drinkers, the “dry-month” group showed improved metabolic numbers linked to the liver and overall health, says the magazine. They also reported that sleep quality improved 10 percent and wakefulness 9.5 percent, ratings of concentration soared 18 percent, and work performance increased 17 percent. According to medical researchers at University College London Medical School (UCLMS), for some of the 10, their brief period of abstinence tended to carry over beyond the test period. Yet study leader Rajiv Jalan cautioned about potential bias in self reports.


 
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