How Alcohol Impairs the Brain

Over 51.5% of adult American citizens are frequent alcohol drinkers. Added to the 13.5% of adults who drink frequently, that is a total of 65%. It is now more important than ever to understand the effects of drinking. Below explains how it impairs the brain.

Brownouts and Blackouts

Like every alcohol effect, memory loss or partial memory loss episodes depend on several factors. Susceptibility depends on a person's age, gender, race, and genetic background. What has been established is that a leading cause for brownouts and blackouts is alcohol consumption rate and the resulting concentration of alcohol in the individual's blood stream. Alcohol decreases the brain's ability to do more than one thing at a time. When it comes to priorities, the brain will choose to maintain simple functions such as walking, breathing, and even talking, before it codes events into the memory processors of the brain. The result is memory loss.

Aside from the psychological consequences of not remembering a night out, or making bad choices due to lack of proper processing, memory loss serves as a red flag for more harmful conditions. First, it can be the result of a developing or established addiction to alcohol. Second, it can indicate more permanent memory coding process damage. Depending on the severity, frequency, and length of consumption, this damage can range from temporary lapses to the complete inability to remember anything.

Increased Stimulation

As the levels of alcohol rise, so does the level of norepinephrine. This neurotransmitter is responsible for such things as excitement, sexual arousal, happiness, energy, and other feelings and emotions associated with stimulation. This temporary boost is quickly deflated when blood alcohol levels decrease, leaving the individual more depressed and tired due to the abnormally low levels of norepinephrine present during post-intoxication. The more frequent and the longer a person drinks, the worse the post-symptoms are, and the more at risk they are to permanent damage in the norepinephrine release process.

Addiction and Withdrawal

Change in release and absorption processes is not limited to norepinephrine production. For example, the brain relies on blood sugar for fuel, but alcohol reduces blood sugar. As an alternative, the brain utilizes acetic acid which is present in the blood of someone who is drinking. After a while, the brain will constantly rely on acetic acid. When someone stops drinking, the body will not automatically utilize blood sugar. The result is that the brain will not get fuel and the consumer will suffer withdrawal symptoms such as dehydration, shaking, irritability, headaches, lack of energy, and even seizures. In the most severe cases of substance abuse, the brain is not able to transition back to using blood sugar as fuel, and long term acetate supplements are required.

Alcohol-Related Deaths

Excluding alcohol-related liver disease deaths, accidents, and homicides, there is still an alcohol-related death rate of over 25,000 Americans a year. These deaths are associated with things like brownouts, blackouts, stimulation, and addiction and withdrawal. How many of these people would have put themselves at risk if they had known how alcohol impairs the brain. Meta: How alcohol impairs the brain is one of the many dangerous effects of alcohol abuse. These effects include blackouts, stimulation, addiction, and withdrawal.

How many drinks can you "really" have?

Alcohol: The “Social” Drug

Alcohol is a historically common drug. We as human beings have been drinking for thousands of years. One of the reasons behind the commonality of alcohol use is due to the uncertain quality of water in the past. In older times, people did not know how to filter water or even understand the problem with drinking water that was fouled. However, they did understand that when they drank water from certain places, people died. Fast forward to modern times. We have some of the best filtering techniques ever used. We have huge systems that clean the water we drink and bathe in. In many parts of the world (but certainly not all) there is access to clean water, juice, milk, and pretty much any beverage your mind can conjure. Yet we still drink alcohol. Alcohol actually does not quench thirst at all. When someone says a cold beer on the back porch in summer is refreshing, they may be right. But the only thing about an alcoholic beverage that is doing anything for them physically is cooling them down. The drink itself is actually making them thirstier than before they drank it.

What Problems Does Alcohol Cause?

Drinking is often encouraged by cultures around the world. However, alcohol abuse can cause a lot of physical problems. Some of which are:

• Hangover Hangover is your body detoxing (to some degree) from the poison you’ve put into it – alcohol. You can feel headaches, body aches, disoriented, nauseous, like you have a migraine, and more. There are a lot of urban legends on how to avoid or cure a hangover. Your best bet is to avoid excessive alcohol in the first place. 
• Chronic Disease Consistent alcohol use can cause high blood pressure, which leads to heart problems. Also, alcohol is really hard on the liver. Drinking can lead to damage of the liver cells and liver disease. 
• Cancer Long-term drinking is associated with certain types of cancer. Some of the at-risk areas are: liver, mouth, throat, esophagus, and larynx. Long-term alcohol consumption has also been linked to breast cancer in women. 
• Birth Defects Exposing infants to alcohol when a woman is pregnant can cause the child to be born with imperfect organs or retarded brain growth. 
• Dependence Physical and psychological dependence (addiction) to alcohol, also known as alcoholism, is a major problem in both the US and around the world. # Death Alcohol is actually a poison. If you drink too much too fast, you can die. Also, mixing other drugs with alcohol is extremely dangerous and can lead to death.

How Alcoholism Happens

Drinking alcohol is a part of many traditions – both in the US and all around the world. 51.5% of the US population identifies themselves as regular drinkers while 43.1% of men in the US are binge drinkers. Alcoholism isn’t just binge drinking. It is characterized by symptoms like:

• Excessive and uncontrollable cravings to drink. 
• A growing tolerance to alcohol. 
• Inability to control one’s drinking. 
• Withdrawal symptoms when one stops drinking (which can be very severe and even fatal – alcohol withdrawal requires medical detoxification). 

It will become apparent that someone is an alcoholic when they exhibit the above characteristics, and when they excessively use alcohol to “solve” problems or to avoid their problems altogether. Alcohol consumes their life, and they may not care to admit it. One should know the pitfalls of alcohol abuse and how to avoid them. Make sure your friends, family, and children are educated about the effects of alcohol. In answer to the question, “How many drinks can I really have?” only you can really answer that. Is one drink going to do you any harm? Not particularly (although allergies cannot be ruled out). But some people are unable to drink in moderation. Many learn the hard way – over years – that they cannot take the one drink. If you are driving, the correct amount is zero. Always assign a designated driver. Those who neglect their basic responsibilities when it comes to drinking can wind up dead, or make a mistake that they wind up thinking about for years or decades behind bars. So, don’t be that person. Use good judgment. Over to you!

How to Say No to Peer Pressure

According to the Los Angeles Times, fatal drug overdoses have increased for the 11th year in a row in the United States. As times toughen, it only seems that drug abuse continues to rise in popularity and grip more lives with each passing year. However, it must be understood that people are not generally born with addictions to drugs. The addiction starts somewhere; usually in situations where the user is pressured into trying a particular drug. With America's obsession with the party life, how can it be easy to say no to peer pressure? These are some tried and true strategies for standing your ground against drugs.

The Art of Saying No

Of course, this guide on saying no to drugs wouldn't be complete without your first line of defense being just that; a huge, "NO." Surprisingly enough, a strong and firm, "no" is often enough to deter pesky peers that just want to see you give in and have a good time with them. However, the trick is showing them that you mean business with your answer. If you give them a light and hearty, "No, I couldn't," as your answer, they aren't going to put much stock into your response, and they will surely try to water you down. Do not argue with whomever is trying to get you to join in. Arguing only gives the peer more of a chance to persuade you to let your guard down. Don't spend too much time bickering about it. Some great ways to say, "no" without much room for argument include:

• No.
• Don't try to persuade me to do dangerous things.
• Absolutely not!
• I will leave if you don't stop asking.

Be the Designated Driver

A great way to avoid being pressured into doing drugs is assuming the role of the designated driver. A DD must maintain sobriety at all times throughout an occasion, and this is mainly due to the responsibility of safely transporting your peers from point A to point B. If you tell someone that you're the DD and can't risk using a drug, they will likely leave you alone about it.

Tell Everyone That You Have Plans for the Next Day

Tell your peers that you've got plans the next day that you can't be hungover for. Maybe you've got work early in the morning. Maybe you're supposed to be up by a certain time in the morning to have breakfast with your family. The chances are probably going to be high anyway that you'll have prior obligations for the next day. Explain this to your peers if they continue to badger you about using a drug or drinking.

Employ Humor

In some cases, jokes and humor can lighten the mood or change the subject completely. Maybe you can casually remind everyone of a funny memory or something else that will take their minds off of you. It will more than likely get the entire group laughing, and an entertaining conversation will probably ensue.

Leave the Party

Lastly, if the pressure gets too intense, there's nothing wrong with simply leaving the party and alleviating yourself of the stress. It's not uncommon for several people to gang up on one person to increase the pressure for that singled out peer to drink. If the pressure is too intense or your friends just aren't getting the hint, just leave. It's not worth sticking around and widening the margin for error or failure with each passing minute that you stay. Leaving can also show your friends that you meant business when you said, "no" the first time. 

Sources: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/19/news/la-heb-drug-overdoses-increase-20130219 d.