Effects of ALCOHOL on the brain and nervous system

Today, there are many people who regularly consume alcohol in social gatherings, at home after work or in any situation in general. Alcohol is one of the most consumed drugs and at the same time more normalized and commercialized in our society.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol consumption ranks third among the factors that can lead to poor health. But what does alcohol do to our body? which are the effects of alcohol on the brain and nervous system? Next, in this interesting article from Psychology-Online, we will talk about the dangerous effects of alcohol on the brain, both in the short term and in the long term.

Index

1. Effects of alcohol on the brain
2. Effects of alcohol on the adolescent brain
3. How alcohol affects our health
4. Alcoholism: long-term effects of alcohol

Beer, wine, whiskey and other beverages have one element in common (to a greater or lesser extent) and that is the

Already entered the bloodstream, alcohol reaches our nervous system and begins to cause ravages "flooding" the inhibition circuits, which is why many people become uninhibited when they take a pair of glasses. In addition, it also affects our behavior and the ability to store memories.

Not only does drinking affect alcohol, quality and type are also important. For example, it is not the same to drink a beer from time to time than to have five vodka cocktails in an hour. Drinking a lot and fast dangerously affects our nervous systemIn fact, we can lose consciousness completely, this state is known as ethyl coma.

Psychological effects of alcohol

Here are the most obvious short-term effects of alcohol:

• Loss of balance
• Dizziness
• Dehinibition
• Memory loss (here we explain why don't you remember anything when you drink)
• Impulsiveness
• Aggressiveness
• Inability to control emotions Y take decisions

It is very important to speak of a particularly vulnerable group in this phenomenon: adolescents.

The figures are very worrying, and is that, according to a recently published study, half of adolescents in Spain do not believe that alcohol is a drug, 70% have tried it at some time and nearly half of teens are heavy drinkers.^[1]

How does alcohol affect a teenager's brain?

First of all, we must remember that they are not fully adult people at the level of physical and psychological development. For that reason, if they start drinking alcohol at such a young age, it can affect your brain development.

The prefrontal cortex is the brain area in charge of make rational decisions and in the long term. This area is immature in an adolescent and, on the other hand, is seriously affected by alcohol consumption (that's why when someone is drunk they behave in a more childish way and do not usually take good decisions). So if we add both elements, it is easy to see the psychological consequences of alcohol in the brain of a teenager.

Some consequences of excess alcohol in the body are the following:

• Stomach ache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Blurry vision
• Difficulty speaking correctly
• Inability to coordinate movements
• Headache and malaise the next day

This substance not only affects our nervous system. The devastating effects of alcohol can reach all parts of our body. However, one of the main affected is our liver.

The liver is in charge of metabolizing and eliminating the toxic component from our bloodstream. Therefore, this organ is affected and is very prone to contracting diseases if we drink alcohol excessively. Some of the most common diseases are hepatitis C and cirrhosis.

Is alcohol bad for your health?

In large quantities and drinking high-proof distilled beverages, alcohol is not positive for our body at all. However, there are some studies that claim that drinking the equivalent amount of a glass of wine a day improves blood circulation. However, these studies appear to have many flaws in their methodology.^[2]

Now that you know the immediate effects of alcohol on the brain, it is important to talk about a problem that affects our society very seriously: alcoholism. We define this disorder as a dependency or very high addiction to alcoholic beverages.

The long-term effects of alcohol are so damaging that in some cases they can be triggers for chronic and fatal diseases, such as heart disease, cirrhosis, or hepatitis C. In addition, people with alcoholism have the following symptoms:

• Irreparable damage to the brain and in short term memory
• Increased risk of laryngeal and esophageal cancer.
• Sexual impotence
• Risk of suffering from psychotic disorders
• Hallucinations
• Changes in personality

As we have seen throughout this article, alcoholism wears out our mind and body and we must treat it in the best possible way. Therefore and to finish this article on the effects of alcohol on the brain, we recommend reading this other article with guidance for family members of an alcoholic person.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Effects of alcohol on the brain and nervous system, we recommend that you enter our category of Addictions.

1. REPETTO, H. Paniagua, et al. Consumption of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs among adolescents and relationship with lifestyle and environment. In Annals of Pediatrics. Elsevier Doyma, 2001. p. 121-128.
2. Serecigni, J. G. (2008). Is alcohol good for health?. Addictions, 20(3), 221-236.

• World Health Organization. (2010). Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol.