Why People Do Sober October Again and Again
Medically reviewed by Joseph Volpicelli, MD, PhD
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| 46% of past participants have done Sober October more than once; 21% have done it three times or more. |
| 67% plan to do it again this year. People who have done it before are four times as likely as first-timers to say they definitely will (41% vs 10%). |
| The people coming back are the ones it worked for: 79% of those planning a repeat drank less after their last attempt, against 36% of those not returning. |
| 2024 and 2025 were Sober October's biggest years, with 43% and 47% of past participants taking part. |
Most resolutions are made once. Sober October, on the evidence in Oar Health's State of Sober October 2026 report, gets made again. Nearly half of the people who have done it have done it more than once, and two thirds plan to be back this year. This article is about why, and about what to do with the month if you're one of them.
How many people do Sober October more than once?
Among past participants, 54% had done it once, 25% twice and 21% three or more times. Asked about this year, 67% said they planned to do it again, and 41% said they definitely would. Among drinkers who had never tried it, 10% said they definitely would. In other words, one month makes people four times as likely to commit to the next.
The month is also growing. 20% of past participants first took part before 2020; 43% took part in 2024 and 47% in 2025, up from 28% in 2023 and 25% in 2022.
Why do people come back?
Because it worked. The clearest finding in this section of the report is the link between what happened after someone's last Sober October and whether they plan another. Among people planning to repeat, 79% said they drank less or quit after their last attempt. Among people not planning to repeat, 36% did.
That is the logic of the whole month in one number. Seven in ten participants drank less afterward. The ones who noticed the change are the ones who come back for it, and the ones who come back are, over time, the ones drinking less. "Sober October shows that a month can be enough to change a habit," says Jonathan Hunt-Glassman, Oar Health's CEO. "That's not a trend. That's a tool, and most Americans haven't picked it up yet."
Should you do Sober October every year?
If it worked last time, the data says yes, and there's a reasonable case for doing it the same way. If it didn't, do it differently, or do something else.
The report's other findings sketch out what "differently" might mean. Cravings, not parties, were what ended most attempts, and people with strong cravings were five times as likely not to finish. If cravings were the story of your last October, a second identical attempt is likely to produce the same result, and the more useful change is to get help with the cravings, which can mean medication approved for alcohol use disorder.
If the problem was expectations (people who found the month harder than expected were far more likely not to finish, 42% against 5%), the fix is a plan for the first two weeks. If the problem was that a fully dry month didn't hold, a damp one might; only about half of the people planning Sober October intend zero alcohol.
How to make year two count
- Change one thing.
- Measure what changed last time.
- Decide the November plan in October.
- Book the next one.
Our guide to Sober October has the full plan for the month and for the day after it.
About the data. Oar Health surveyed 1,260 US adults aged 21 and over who drink at least monthly on September 1 and 2, 2026. Repeat figures come from the 163 respondents who had attempted Sober October; the "drank less afterward" comparison rests on 110 who plan to repeat and 25 who do not (28 were undecided). Full methodology is in the report.
This article was medically reviewed by Joseph Volpicelli, MD, PhD, a Senior Adviser to Oar Health whose research established naltrexone as a treatment for alcohol use disorder. Review confirms the clinical information here was accurate and current as of October 31, 2026. It is not a substitute for advice from your own clinician.
