Last Updated on May 25, 2023

We take the feedback of our members very seriously, and these improvements come as a direct response to the hundreds of thousands of conversations we’ve had this year. We know these enhancements will empower new and existing members alike to have even more success on their mindful drinking journeys.

But first, let’s take a quick look at how the mindful drinking movement has grown in 2022.

Mindful drinking is a popular lifestyle that showed no signs of slowing in 2022

We designed Sunnyside to help anyone who drinks alcohol develop healthier drinking habits, no matter their starting point or their ultimate goals. Our non-judgmental, accepting approach is exactly what mindful drinking is all about: A movement defined not by pressuring people to quit drinking, but rather taking a careful look at how alcohol impacts us and building re-evaluating our relationship to alcohol so we can live healthier lives.

Over the past few years, the mindful drinking movement has continued to grow rapidly, with a massive increase in search volume:

Exciting mindful drinking stats

• ‘Mindful drinking’ as a search term has increased by over 660% over the past few years on Google search
• There are over 17 million views on TikTok related to ‘mindful drinking’
• ‘Sober Curious’ (a very similar movement) has seen over 300 million views on Tik Tok
• ‘Non-alcoholic’ related search queries have increased 280% over the past few years

Statistics related to the “dry” January movement

The “dry” January movement–or as we’re calling it, “Dry(ish) January”– is one of the most popular moments of the year for people to reset their relationship to alcohol and start the year off on the right foot. It’s a well-established, but still-growing trend that we’re watching closely:

• Over 30 million adults in the US plan on participating in some variation of a dry or dry(ish) January in 2023
• 84% of Sunnyside members have expressed interest in participating in a Dry(ish) January in 2023
• 93% of past dry or dry(ish) January participants had a sense of achievement 
• 80% felt more in control of their drinking from participating in the past
• 70% found they had generally improved health

It goes without saying that more and more people are seeing significant value in building a healthier relationship with alcohol, and more individuals are realizing that you don’t necessarily need an all or nothing approach to drinking alcohol.

Keeping these factors (and many others) in mind, we’re ready to share some of the new updates and features available to Sunnyside members as of right now.

The New Sunnyside iOS App is Live

As we’ve improved our beloved text-message experience over the past several years, we’ve also been working on our iOS app to further enhance and improve the Sunnyside experience. It’s something our members have been requesting for a while, and we’re incredibly excited to bring it to life.

The app is available for iOS currently, and provides an easier way to create your weekly plan, track your drinks, update daily targets and see your progress on demand, from the palm of your hand.

Easier tracking and target updates

You’ll be able to use the Tracking tab within the app to easily track drinks for the current day as well as correct previous days when needed. 

On those days where you forget to track, you can simply go into the app and update your drink numbers. You can also update targets for the current week by tapping on the ‘target’ column.

See your progress along the way

The Progress tab lets you access your dashboard whenever you choose so that you can see a visual representation of how you’re pacing towards your goals for the week, as well as how much money you’ve saved to date, how many nights of sleep you’ve gained and how many empty calories you’ve avoided throughout your mindful drinking journey. 

Seamless interaction with text messages

Many of you have also expressed how much you love the texting feature, and now that experience seamlessly merges with the app experience. Your tracking data will be automatically updated in the app when you text in, and any links within messages you receive will open within the app to make it easier for you to stay mindful.

Download Sunnyside on the Apple App Store.

A Community of Mindful Drinkers at your fingertips

Next we’re excited to share the new Community. In the app, you’ll have access to an engaged community of like-minded people who are also on a journey to cut back on drinking and build healthier drinking habits.

The Community gives you access to inspiration, advice and support from Sunnyside members as well as coaches. It’s a safe and private space within the Sunnyside iOS app. You will be able to select your own username so that you can choose to stay anonymous as you engage.

You’ll be able to:

Connect around shared daily prompts:

Each day you can respond to daily thought exercises that encourage you to pause and reflect on how far you’ve come on your mindful drinking journey, and enjoy where you are presently. These reflection prompts are a helpful way for you to stay accountable and visualize where you’re headed in the future.

Get inspired by others on the journey with you:

You’ll see how other members in the Sunnyside community are responding each day. This is a great reminder that there are many other people working on improving their relationships with alcohol.

Send love and support to lift each other up:

Let fellow members know that you’re there for them through all the ups and downs, and receive the same support back. You can send and receive love, empathy and words of encouragement on a daily basis, and reach out at any time you need a nudge of support, or want to provide one in turn. 

Write publicly, keep a private journal, or both:

Sometimes your reflections might be private to you, which is why you can choose to share your reflections with other members in the Sunnyside Community, or you can choose to keep your thoughts private in your personal journal. We encourage you to do what feels more comfortable, while maintaining consistent reflections.

A new space to engage with Sunnyside coaches:

As always, your Sunnyside coaching team is here to listen and provide feedback and support as you share your reflections and questions through the Community. You’ll receive daily encouragement so that you get the motivation and push you need to keep working towards your goals.

Download Sunnyside on the Apple App Store.

Join the Sunnyside Dry(ish) January Challenge

We know that the New Year brings with it the motivation to set new goals and give your body a healthy reset. Over 30 million adults in the US plan on participating in a sober January challenge in 2023. 

That being said, many people tend to jump back into previous habits as soon as January comes to an end.

We surveyed hundreds of Sunnyside members to learn more about how you want to kickstart the New Year, and thus we created the Dry(ish) January Challenge as a feature available to all new and existing members.

Choose the challenge that works best for you:

You don’t need to completely stop drinking to experience big health improvements. With this feature, you can choose the challenge that best fits your lifestyle and goals. As always, we will never pressure you to go completely dry for the month, so you can choose the version of Dry(ish) January that works best for you.

• The Classic: Take every day off of drinking and truly reset your relationship with alcohol
• Weekdays off: Commit to just taking the weekdays off of drinking, and stick to weekends.
• Cut your consumption in half: Cut your usual alcohol intake in half for the month of January and still experience big improvements.
• A fully customized approach: Do it 100% your way. Set your weekly plan and continue practicing mindful drinking the way that works for you. 

If you do choose to participate in a fully dry month, check out this article on how to have a successful dry January, or watch the video below for some helpful tips.

New and exciting resources

Continuing throughout 2023, you can expect plenty of new content and resources to help you stay mindful.

Subscribe to Sunnyside on YouTube

Be sure to subscribe to Sunnyside on YouTube so that you’ll be the first to know about new mindful drinking tips, fun facts, expert interviews, recipes and more.

Follow Sunnyside on TikTok

Join thousands of people who are following Sunnyside on TikTok, and get access to tons of fun and helpful videos to motivate and inspire you on your mindful drinking journey.

Visit the Sunnyside Blog

And if you haven’t already, make sure to check out our blog since we will be publishing new content and research every week for you to dive into.

Cheers to a mindful 2023

With these new updates and additions to Sunnyside, we’re confident you will get yet another step closer to improving your relationship with alcohol. But more importantly, we are just getting started and know that 2023 will bring even more momentum to the mindful drinking movement.

We’re excited to go on this journey with all of you, and cheers you to a healthy and mindful new year!

Nick & Ian,
Co-founders of Sunnyside