State Of Sober October 2026 Report

Ten Things We Learned About Sober October

1. Sober October is still a secret. Only 30% of monthly drinkers have heard of it, half the number who know Dry January. Even the people who do it mostly keep it quiet.

2. Most succeed, and the change sticks. 85% say they completed the month, and 7 in 10 say they drank less afterward.

3. Money is the benefit people notice most. 64% noticed the savings, more than noticed better sleep, a clearer head or a better mood.

4. The people who need it most are the least likely to try. Heavy drinkers are more aware of Sober October than other drinkers and half as likely to plan it. They expect it to be hard, and they are right.

5. Cravings, not parties, get the blame. People with strong cravings are 5x as likely not to finish as people with none. Pressure from others made little difference.

6. People on GLP-1s are 2x as likely to have done Sober October. People who have taken a GLP-1 drink as much as everyone else, but are twice as likely to have tried a sober month.

7. Men try Sober October. Women finish it. Men are nearly twice as likely to have attempted it. Women were half as likely not to finish, reported fewer cravings, and more often noticed better sleep.

8. Cravings peak early. Slips can come at any time. 72% of those with cravings say they peaked in weeks one and two. Half of those who did not finish got past day 14.

9. Sober October skipped a generation. Boomers drink the most and know the least. Only 12% have heard of it, a third of the rate of Millennials and Gen Z.

10. Sober October is habit-forming. Nearly half of past participants have done it more than once, and 67% plan to do it again this year.

Oar Health provides medication based treatment, including naltrexone, for people who want to drink less.

1. Sober October Is Still A Secret

Half as many drinkers know Sober October as know Dry January. The people who do it mostly keep it quiet, and the more they tell, the more pressure they feel.

Dry January is a household name. Sober October is not. A quarter of the drinkers we surveyed had heard of none of the three sober-month challenges we named, and awareness is lowest among older drinkers and in the Northeast.

The secret keeps itself. Most people who take on Sober October tell only a few people, and a third tell almost no one. Telling people has a visible side effect: the more widely a participant shared what they were doing, the more likely they were to feel pressure to drink, though pressure itself made little difference to whether people finished.

None of this is a lack of interest. When people who had never heard of Sober October were told what it was, one in five said they would probably or definitely do it. The stated interest is there. The awareness is not.

Sober October Is Half As Well Known As Dry January

Share of US drinkers who had heard of each challenge before taking the survey. Source: Oar Health survey of 1,260 US adults aged 21+ who drink at least monthly, September 2026. n = 1,260.

Boomers Are A Third As Likely To Have Heard Of Sober October

Share who had heard of Sober October before the survey, by generation. Source: Oar Health survey, September 2026. Gen Z n = 238, Millennials n = 626, Gen X n = 303, Boomers n = 93.

Only 1 In 8 Told Everyone

Past participants: did you tell people you were doing Sober October?. Source: Oar Health survey, September 2026. n = 163 past participants.

People Who Told More People Were More Likely To Feel Pressure To Drink

Past participants: share who felt pressure to drink, by how widely they shared that they were doing Sober October. Source: Oar Health survey, September 2026. n = 21 / 84 / 32 / 26.

2. Most Succeed & The Change Sticks

More people report finishing Sober October than Dry January, many find it easier than they feared, and most say the change outlasted the month.

Sober October is a winnable month. Reported completion runs ahead of Dry January, and expectations differ too: 44% of Sober October participants found the month easier than they had braced for, against 32% for Dry January.

The more important finding is what people say happened afterward. Seven in ten said they drank less in the months that followed, and one in seven said they stopped altogether for a time. Even among those who did not finish, nearly half said they drank less. A month off is not a stunt. For most people it is a reset that lasted.

More People Finish Sober October Than Finished Dry January

Share of past participants who say they completed the challenge. Sources: Oar Health surveys, September 2026 (n = 163 past Sober October participants) and December 2025 (n = 476 past Dry January participants).

More Found October Easier Than Expected Than Said The Same Of January

Seven In Ten Came Out Of Sober October Drinking Less

"Sober October shows that a month can be enough to change a habit. Seven in ten people who take it on told us they drank less in the months that followed. That's not a trend. That's a tool, and most Americans haven't picked it up yet." Jonathan Hunt-Glassman, CEO, Oar Health

3. Money Is The Benefit People Notice Most

Health is why people start Sober October. Money is what they notice.

Ask people considering Sober October why, and they say health first. Money is second. In households earning under $100,000 it is chosen by nearly one in five, three times the rate among higher earners. A month off alcohol is one of the few health resolutions that pays you back in cash.

It is also the benefit people notice most. Asked what they noticed during the month, past participants put the savings top, ahead of sleep, mood, energy and a clearer head. The most common estimate was $100 to $250, and people who drink four or more a week were more likely to save $250 or more.

Health First, Money Second

Saving Money Matters Most To Those With The Least Of It

Share naming saving money as their main goal, by household income (people considering Sober October). Source: Oar Health survey, September 2026. By income band: 169 / 242 / 96 / 67 / 16, totalling 590 of 621. The top band rests on 16 people.

The First Thing People Notice Is The Money

Past participants: what did you notice during Sober October? Multiple answers allowed. Source: Oar Health survey, September 2026. n = 163 past participants.

A Typical Sober October Saves $100 To $250

Past participants who gave an estimate: how much money did you save?. Source: Oar Health survey, September 2026. n = 144 past participants who gave an estimate (19 said they had no idea).

4. The People Who Need Sober October Most Are Least Likely To Try

Heavy drinkers know about Sober October. They are the ones opting out, and they expect a hard month.

This is the finding that matters most. Heavy drinkers, the people for whom a month off would do the most good, are more aware of Sober October than other drinkers and, among those considering it, far more likely to say they would do it to drink less. They are also half as likely to plan it and a third as likely to be committed. Awareness is not the problem. Expecting a hard month is.

The pattern is broad: people who drink more are less likely to plan the month and more likely to expect it to be hard, though the two heaviest bands sit close together. Among heavy drinkers considering the month, nearly three in four expect a struggle, four times the rate of everyone else. By drinking level, the keenest group is people who drink less than weekly, for whom the month costs least.

Among the 12 heavy drinkers who have attempted the month, the experience bears this out: 11 had cravings, 4 had strong cravings, 6 found it harder than expected and 3 did not finish. The numbers are small, but they point one way. Sober October, as it stands, draws the people who find it easy more than the people it could help most.

The More People Drink, The Less Likely They Are To Try, And The Harder They Expect It To Be

By drinks in a typical week. Plan to do Sober October is all respondents; expect it to be difficult is people considering it. Source: Oar Health survey, September 2026. Plan n = 193 / 518 / 309 / 127 / 113. Difficulty n = 146 / 256 / 136 / 40 / 43.

Heavy Drinkers Know It, Want It, And Opt Out Of It

Heavy drinkers (15 or more drinks a week) vs everyone else. Source: Oar Health survey, September 2026. Heavy n = 113, everyone else n = 1,147. Difficulty and goal figures among people considering Sober October: heavy n = 43, everyone else n = 578.

When Heavy Drinkers Do Try It, The Month Is Harder

Past participants, heavy drinkers vs everyone else. Source: Oar Health survey, September 2026. Heavy drinkers who have attempted Sober October n = 12, directional. Everyone else n = 151.

5. Cravings, Not Parties, Get The Blame

Cravings were the reason given most often for a first drink. Celebrations ranked fifth. Pressure from other people made little difference.

Cravings were about as common among Sober October participants as among Dry January participants. What differs is how much they matter. Not finishing tracks craving strength once cravings pass mild: 7% with none, 3% with mild, 24% with moderate and 39% with strong. Cravings were also the reason given most often for a first drink, ahead of habit and boredom. Celebrations, the top reason in the Dry January survey, ranked fifth.

Social pressure is the surprise. It was about as common as among Dry January participants, it came mostly from friends, with colleagues named more often than in the Dry January survey, and it made little difference to whether people finished (16% vs 14%). Among Dry January participants, feeling pressured went with a far higher rate of not finishing.

"I spent years being told that if I wanted it badly enough, I could just stop drinking, that I could white knuckle my way through cravings. This data backs up what I learned the hard way. People who felt cravings during Sober October were nearly three times as likely not to finish. Cravings are not a willpower problem, they're the reason people don't make it, and they are treatable." Jonathan Hunt-Glassman, CEO, Oar Health

6. People On GLP-1s Are Twice As Likely To Have Done Sober October

A fifth of the drinkers we surveyed have taken a GLP-1. They drink as much as everyone else, and twice as many have done a sober month.

As a group they drink about as much as those who never have. What sets them apart is what they do about it. They are twice as likely to have done Sober October, more likely to be planning it, and twice as likely to have used some form of support when they did. GLP-1 use rises with income, and this survey cannot say which came first, the medication or the sober month.

Of the GLP-1 groups, the most likely to plan a Sober October is people who took one in the past and have since stopped (40%). That group is 105 people, so treat the gap as indicative. Why it exists is beyond this survey.

7. Men Try Sober October. Women Finish It.

Men are nearly twice as likely to have attempted Sober October. Women were half as likely not to finish.

Men are far more likely than women to have taken on Sober October, 16% against 9%, and more of them expect a hard month, which fits: men drink more on average. Among past participants, women did better on the measures we asked about, finishing more often, reporting fewer cravings, and more often noticing better sleep. Intent for this year is the same for both, at 26%.

8. Cravings Peak Early. Slips Can Come At Any Time.

Cravings are strongest in the first two weeks, but half of those who did not finish got past day 14.

Cravings arrive early. Nearly three quarters of participants who had them say they peaked in the first two weeks. The first drink did not follow the same clock: of the 24 people who did not finish, nine drank in the first week and twelve after day 14. Reaching the halfway mark helps, it does not settle it. Expectations matter too: people who found the month harder than they expected were far more likely not to finish. The practical advice for anyone starting on October 1 is to plan for the whole month.

"In this survey, the stronger people's cravings, the less likely they were to finish the month. Mild cravings made little difference. With moderate cravings, about a quarter didn't finish; with strong cravings, four in ten. That isn't a willpower failure. Cravings are a treatable symptom, and medications like naltrexone can reduce them." Joseph Volpicelli, MD, PhD, Senior Adviser, Oar Health

9. Sober October Skipped A Generation

Boomers drink the most and know the least about Sober October.

Drinkers aged 62 and over report more drinks a week on average than any other generation and are the least likely by a distance to have heard of Sober October; four in ten had heard of none of the three challenges we named. Few have tried it.

When they do consider it, they plan it the old-fashioned way. Boomers considering Sober October are the most likely to plan a fully dry month, while Gen Z, who have tried it as much as any generation, are the most likely to build exceptions into it. The generation that drinks the most is the one the challenge has reached least.

10. Sober October Is Habit-Forming

The people who have done it are the people planning it again.

Sober October keeps its participants. Nearly half of past participants have done it more than once, a fifth three or more times, and two thirds plan to be back this year. People who have done it before are four times as likely to say they will definitely do it again as people who never have. And those planning to return are largely the ones who said they drank less after their last attempt: 79%, against 36% of those not returning.

The Big Picture

Sober October is changing shape. Its participants are changing too. And October is not the only month that matters.

Only half of the people considering Sober October intend a fully dry month. The rest are planning exceptions, cutting back, or have not decided, and among Gen Z the damp version is nearly the majority. We see that as progress, not compromise. A damp October that leads to lasting change is a better outcome than a dry October that ends on November 1.

The people who struggle most are not short of motivation. Heavy drinkers are more aware of Sober October than other drinkers and, when considering it, the most likely to want to drink less. What stands between them and the month, in their own account, is cravings, and cravings can be treated. Not finishing is not the end of the story: nearly half of those who did not complete the month still said they drank less afterward.

Finally, while the change of season is a natural moment to reset, it is not the only one. Dry January arrives three months later and offers a second chance for anyone who didn't take the first. The truth is that there is no bad time to drink less or quit.

"Sober October is a 31-day experiment. Take alcohol out and notice what changes: your sleep, your mood, your energy, your bank balance, and your cravings. Whatever you learn, including from a slip, is the point. One caveat: if you're a heavy, everyday drinker, stopping abruptly can carry a real risk of severe withdrawal, so talk to your doctor before you start." Joseph Volpicelli, MD, PhD, Senior Adviser, Oar Health

About this report

Between September 1 and September 2, 2026, Oar Health surveyed 1,260 American adults aged 21 and over who drink alcohol at least once a month. The sample is 640 men, 619 women and one respondent who did not state sex, spans every state, and covers every generation from Gen Z to Boomers. The median respondent is 39 years old and has three drinks in a typical week.

Respondents were pre-screened as drinking alcohol at least monthly, and the study listing made no mention of alcohol or Sober October, so the sample was not skewed toward people already drawn to the challenge. 163 respondents had attempted Sober October before, and the findings about the experience of the month are based on their answers.

Comparisons with Dry January refer to Oar Health's December 2025 survey of 1,008 American adults who drink at least monthly. Heavy drinkers are defined as people who have 15 or more drinks in a typical week. This is one threshold for both sexes, for simplicity; the CDC defines heavy drinking as "eight or more drinks for women, or 15 or more drinks for men during a week" (CDC, Alcohol Use and Your Health, reviewed January 14, 2025). "People considering Sober October" are those who said they definitely will, probably will or might do it (n = 621); "people planning Sober October" are those who said they definitely or probably will (n = 327). Generations are based on the Pew Research Center definitions: Gen Z (21 to 29), Millennials (30 to 45), Gen X (46 to 61) and Boomers (62 and over).

The survey was designed by Oar Health and fielded on the Prolific research panel between September 1 and 2, 2026. Results are unweighted; the sample is 51% men, 50% aged 30 to 45 and 7% aged 62 and over, so figures describe the drinkers surveyed rather than all American drinkers. This is an opt-in panel sample, not a probability sample, so it carries no margin of error. For scale, a random sample of this size would give about 3 points for the full sample, 8 points for the 163 past participants and 20 points for the 24 who did not complete. Small groups are marked where they appear. Completion, cravings, pressure and support are self-reported: people were asked whether they completed Sober October successfully, without a definition. Past participants took part in any year from before 2020 to 2025, so "afterward" can mean months or years. The Dry January comparison uses Oar Health's December 2025 survey of 1,008 monthly drinkers, fielded on the same panel under a study listing that named Dry January, which is likely to have drawn people already interested in it; its awareness and participation figures are therefore not comparable with this survey's, and only its findings about the experience of the month are used here.

Oar Health provides medications for alcohol use disorder (MAUD), including naltrexone, for people who want to drink less. Readers should weigh the findings and the commentary on cravings with that in mind.

Oar Health is a virtual care platform that helps people drink less or quit. Built by a former patient and backed by pioneers in addiction medicine, Oar delivers a daily pill to drink less plus expert guidance. No judgment, just help.

Full results tables are available on request.