The coronavirus lockdown is transforming Britons’ relationship with alcohol, as research reveals that some have increased their consumption, but an even larger number are drinking less or have stopped entirely.

While one in five people – equating to 8.6 million adults – said they were drinking alcohol more frequently in lockdown, to researchers’ surprise one in three (14 million) were taking steps to manage or stop drinking.

A small but significant proportion (6%) said they had stopped drinking entirely, according to the Opinium survey of more than 2,000 adults for the charity Alcohol Change UK.

An example of the pressure of lockdown on those struggling to maintain their alcohol recovery was “Lizzie”, one of the charity’s clients and the mother of a young child, who has managed to remain alcohol-free after a “dry January”.

“Since lockdown things have been harder,” she said. “I have had to stop my therapy sessions, and there have been a couple times I have thought, ‘I could just drink that whole bottle of Prosecco that’s still hanging around from Christmas.’

“Everywhere online people are talking about drinking to respond to our current situation and honestly it breaks my heart, because I don’t want to be numb anymore.”

Meanwhile, some 3.5 million adults are living in households where alcohol is leading to greater conflict during the lockdown, the researchers found. Of that group, one in seven people with children under 18 reported that alcohol had led to increased tensions.

Other trends included the emergence of drink-free days, adopted by 14% of people. The Guardian reported last week that the coronavirus lockdown had led to a mushrooming of online support groups for people coping with drink problems, with organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous having to deal with meetings being hijacked by trolls.

The Opinium survey, carried out from 8 to 14 April, found that the people who had cut down the most had not been drinking much anyway. Nearly half (47%) of people who drank once a week or less have cut down or stopped consuming alcohol, compared with just over a quarter (27%) of people who drank two to six times a week, and just one in five (17%) of daily drinkers.

Nearly one in five (18%) of daily drinkers have increased the amount they drink.

Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said it was good news that many people were taking their health seriously during the pandemic by reducing their alcohol consumption, something strongly recommended by the World Health Organization.

“Cutting down on alcohol will not only improve our own health but it will help to protect the NHS long term, and so it is important that these healthy trends continue,” he said.

“That said, lockdown will be a difficult experience for many dependent drinkers, those in recovery, or those whose alcohol consumption has risen sharply in the last few weeks.”