A Merseyside based provider of alcohol reduction services is warning that New Year’s Resolutions failure is already widespread across the UK, with most people abandoning their goals by the second Friday of January.
New findings from Sinclair Method UK show that around half of UK adults set at least one New Year’s resolution. However, up to 80 per cent fail to maintain those commitments beyond the second Friday in January, a date commonly referred to as ‘Failure Friday’ or ‘Quitter’s Day’. Only 9 per cent of people are expected to continue with their resolutions for the full year, underlining how entrenched New Year’s Resolutions failure has become.
Health-related goals dominate the list of resolutions. About 45 per cent of people focus on losing weight, getting fitter or reducing alcohol consumption. While some resolutions may be aspirational, abandoning those linked to health can have more serious implications, even though deciding to improve wellbeing remains a positive first step.
Harvey Bhandal, MD of Sinclair Method UK, specialists in medically supervised alcohol reduction, said: ‘Our research reveals a worrying but understandable lack of will when it comes to keeping our New Year’s Resolutions.’ He added that people who have already given up should not see this as a final failure, while those who are still persevering should continue their efforts.
Data from the organisation suggests that mindset plays a significant role in New Year’s Resolutions failure. Around 43 per cent of people expect to abandon their goals within a month, an assumption that makes long-term success less likely. This is particularly relevant for health-related resolutions, which often require sustained behaviour change.
Research indicates that forming new habits takes time. A study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology found that it took “a median of 59 days for participants who successfully formed habits to reach peak automaticity”. This helps explain why many people struggle to maintain resolutions into late January, before new routines have become established.
Short-term initiatives can help people stay on track. Dry January, which encourages people to abstain from alcohol for the entire month, is widely used as a way to reset drinking habits and experience benefits such as improved sleep, increased energy, weight loss and better mood. Sinclair Method UK has also published guidance aimed at helping participants complete the challenge and avoid early New Year’s Resolutions failure.
For some individuals, temporary challenges may not be enough. Longer-term strategies may be required to support sustained reductions in alcohol consumption. Evidence-based approaches such as the Sinclair Method combine prescribed medication with structured online coaching and counselling. According to Sinclair Method UK, this treatment has an 80 per cent success rate in supporting people to address problematic drinking.
The treatment involves taking naltrexone one hour before drinking alcohol. This reduces the rewarding effects associated with alcohol consumption and retrains the brain’s reward pathways through a process known as pharmacological extinction.
Sinclair Method UK delivers personalised programmes that include one-to-one support from a private general practitioner and ongoing coaching over a three to six month period. Consultations are carried out by telephone or video call, with prescriptions provided as required. All services are delivered confidentially.
The organisation was established with direct input from Dr Roy Eskapa, a colleague of Dr David Sinclair whose research underpins the treatment. Dr Eskapa trained and advised the team, making Sinclair Method UK the only organisation permitted to use The Sinclair Method trademark in the UK.
