Alcohol and the Human Body National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA
Over time, this imbalance triggers chronic gastrointestinal inflammation, leading to a higher risk of gastrointestinal diseases. Alcohol misuse at an early age increases the risk of developing AUD. Genetics or a family history of alcohol misuse increases that risk as well. Childhood trauma, mental health issues, and stress can also lead people to begin drinking or drink more than usual. Regular drinking can also affect overall mental health and well-being, in part because alcohol may worsen symptoms of certain mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. This significant correlation, which remained after excluding persons already diagnosed with anxiety or depression, reaffirms the importance of effective management of depression and anxiety for improving sleep quality.
In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of alcohol use on sleep quality. In addition, further studies are recommended focused on the correlation between alcohol consumption and sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome, both of which were found to be significant in the present study. The risk of developing cancer increases substantially the more alcohol is consumed.
Drinking slowly is another way to reduce the rate at which alcohol is absorbed by your body. Having several nonalcoholic drinks between drinks of alcohol can also slow the effects of alcohol on your system. The size of your body, whether or not you have eaten recently, and the rate at which you drink all affect how your body processes alcohol. A large person has more blood circulating in his or her body than a smaller person, so alcohol concentration in larger people rises more slowly than in a smaller person, even if they drink identical amounts of alcohol. During pregnancy, drinking may cause the unborn baby to have brain damage and other problems.
- Alcohol use suppresses the central nervous system and destroys neurons.
- It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage.
- Excessive alcohol use is a term used to describe four ways that people drink alcohol that can negatively impact health.
- It could be that it messes with the part of your brain that processes sound.
- The bottom line is that alcohol is potentially addictive, can cause intoxication, and contributes to health problems and preventable deaths.
Mental health
Alcohol can also contribute to arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) and hypertension (high blood pressure), increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that has immediate effects on the body, like intoxication (feeling drunk) and hangovers (unpleasant aftereffects from drinking). While these effects are short-lived, long-term alcohol use can trigger systemic (bodywide) inflammation, which damages the body’s tissues and vital organs over time. From a glass of wine with dinner to a night out with friends or a celebratory toast, alcohol consumption is deeply ingrained in many social practices and cultural traditions worldwide.
Drinking harms concentration, learning, and performance at school and at home. It acts like a sedative or tranquilizer, slowing your motor coordination and reaction time. Even though alcohol is a sedative, it disturbs sleep as its effects wear off, and is a major cause of insomnia. Heavy drinking, including binge drinking, is a high-risk activity. For example, any amount of drinking increases the risk of breast cancer and colorectal cancer.
Excessive alcohol use
Heavy drinking can also lead to a host of health concerns, like brain prozac withdrawal timeline damage, heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver and even certain kinds of cancer. Along with the hormone changes that alcohol triggers, that can keep your body from building new bone. Your bones get thinner and more fragile, a condition called osteoporosis. Alcohol also limits blood flow to your muscles and gets in the way of the proteins that build them up. Alcohol widens your blood vessels, making more blood flow to your skin.
Conditions
It can also lead to irritation of the lining of the stomach, called gastritis. The connection between alcohol consumption and your digestive system might not seem immediately clear. The side effects often only appear after the damage has happened.
When you consume alcohol, the effects of alcohol on the hippocampus make the formation of long-term memories less likely. Alcohol-related blackouts (gaps in your memory while drinking alcohol) can occur because alcohol hinders the ability of the hippocampus to transfer short-term memory to long-term storage in the brain. Lowered inhibitions when drinking alcohol can lead to impulsive behavior—engaging in behaviors without considering the potential consequences of your actions.
A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted with 234 men and 159 women who had visited a general hospital. We used structured questionnaires, including Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Korean revised version (AUDIT-KR) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index-Korean version (PSQI-K). We analyzed the association between scores for all subcategories of the PSQI-K and the AUDIT-KR and then analyzed the correlation between AUDIT-KR and global PSQI-K scores. This means pacing yourself, eating before drinking, knowing your limits, and avoiding excessive consumption.
Impulsiveness, loss of coordination, and changes in mood can affect your judgment and behavior and contribute to more far-reaching effects, including accidents, injuries, and decisions you later regret. Alcohol increases the production of stomach acids and can lead to reflux (stomach acids backing up into the esophagus and the throat). Alcohol also irritates the stomach lining, leading to inflammation (gastritis), which can make you feel nauseated and throw up. Despite this, the question of beneficial effects of alcohol has been a contentious issue in research for years. While you may experience euphoria or relaxation at first, in the long run, alcohol affects neurotransmitters, which can lead to changes in your thoughts, moods, and behavior.
Your central nervous system consists of the brain, spinal cord, and neurons that communicate messages throughout your body. It powers key functions and processes like movement, memory, speech, thought processes, and more. Your immune system works to keep you as healthy as possible by fighting off foreign invaders, such as viruses, bacteria, and toxins. To your body, alcohol is a toxin that interrupts your immune system’s ability to do its job, thereby compromising its function.
