What are the Effects of Alcohol Brain Damage?

Overview

Alcohol impedes the brain’s communication pathways and may negatively influence brain functions and look. Alcohol makes it difficult for the brain areas managing balance, memory, speech, and judgment to do their tasks, causing a higher probability of injuries and other negative consequences. Long-term heavy drinking results in alterations in the neurons, like reductions in their size. 

What is alcohol?

Alcohol (ethanol or ethyl alcohol) is the main ingredient found in beer, wine and spirits, which causes drunkenness. It is formed when yeast breaks down without oxygen or ferments the sugars in distinct foods. 

The Adolescent Brain

Adolescent brains are more susceptible to the ill effects of alcohol than adult brains. Overuse of alcohol during adolescence can modify brain development, potentially leading to enduring changes in brain structure and function. 

Cerebral Cortex

Alcohol impedes the cerebral cortex as it functions with information from a person’s senses. In the cerebral cortex, alcohol can influence thought processes, leading to poor judgment. 

Alcohol depresses inhibition, driving a person to become more talkative and more confident. Alcohol dulls the senses and escalates the threshold for pain. As the BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) rises, these influences become more noticeable. 

Central Nervous System

When a person thinks of something he needs his body to do, the central nervous system transmits a signal to that part of the body. Alcohol deteriorates the central nervous system, making the person think, speak, and move slower.

Frontal Lobes

The brain’s frontal lobes are essential for planning, creating ideas, making decisions, and using self-control. When alcohol impacts the frontal lobes of the brain, a person may find it difficult to manage or control his or her emotions and urges. 

The person can act without prior thinking or may even become violent. Drinking alcohol over a long stretch of time can impair the frontal lobes everlastingly.

Hippocampus

The hippocampus is the component of the brain where memories are produced. When alcohol contacts the hippocampus, a person may have difficulty remembering something they just learned, like a name or a phone number.

This can occur after just one or two drinks. If alcohol harms the hippocampus, a person may find it arduous to learn and grasp knowledge.

Cerebellum

The cerebellum is crucial for thought, coordination, and awareness. A person may have issues with these skills when alcohol steps into the cerebellum. After consuming alcohol, a person’s hands may be so trembling that they can’t touch or grab things, and they may lose their balance and fall.

Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus is a small part of the brain that does an unbelievable number of the body’s housekeeping works. Alcohol disturbs the function of the hypothalamus. When a person drinks alcohol, their blood pressure, hunger, and thirst increase while body temperature and heart rate decrease, and the need to urinate arises.

Medulla

The medulla manages the body’s automatic actions, such as a person’s heartbeat. It also maintains the body at the right temperature. Alcohol, in fact, chills the body. Overconsumption of alcohol can result in an unconscious state. Clearly, alcohol’s effect on the medulla can be fatal if it is excessive. 

Alcohol-Caused Blackouts

Alcohol misuse may result in alcohol-induced blackouts. Blackouts are gaps in a person’s memory of events that happened while they were inebriated. 

These gaps occur when a person consumes adequate alcohol that temporarily blocks the transmission of memories from short-term to long-term storage; this is known as memory consolidation in a brain area called the hippocampus. 

Alcohol Overdose

Continuing to drink regardless of clear signs of notable damage can result in an alcohol overdose. An alcohol overdose happens when there is an exceeding amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. The spheres of the brain controlling basic life-support functions like breathing, heart rate, and temperature control—begin to shut down. 

Symptoms of alcohol overdose are mental confusion, difficulty remaining conscious, vomiting, seizure, slow heart rate, clammy skin, dulled responses (like no gag reflex, which prevents choking), and extremely low body temperature. Alcohol overdose can result in permanent brain damage or death. 

Alcohol Use Disorder

As individuals proceed to drink alcohol exceedingly, progressive changes can occur in the structure and function of their brains. These changes can lower brain function and drive the transition from controlled, occasional use to chronic misuse, which can be hard to control and result in alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Individuals with moderate to severe AUD can enter a cycle of alcohol addiction. The level of the brain’s ability to come back to normal level following long-term sobriety is not fully understood. 

Still, many studies highlight that at least a few AUD-induced brain changes—and the changes in thinking, feeling, and behaving that accompany them—can improve and potentially reverse with months of abstinence from drinking. 

Mental Health Immediate effects of alcohol use 

Many people intake low doses of alcohol for relaxation and to relieve tension and stress. But, in some people, alcohol creates stress instead of reducing it, stimulating stress hormones. 

Alcohol influences mood in different manners and can make people feel happy, sad or aggressive, and can also result in mood swings. However, there is a risk of becoming addicted to alcohol if it is used as a central means to relieve stress and anxiety without looking into the underlying causes. 

Because it eliminates inhibitions and escalates aggression and recklessness, alcohol is frequently discovered in the blood of people who self-harm or attempt suicide.

When not to drink

It’s recommended not to drink if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, a medication that interacts with alcohol. This condition could become worse by consuming alcohol, feeling unwell, depressed, tired or cold, as alcohol could make things bad, operating machinery or a vehicle or doing anything that is risky or needs skill. 

Tips to Quit Alcohol

Write

Write a list of the reasons to limit your drinking, like feeling healthier, sleeping better, or improving your relationships. All these reasons can motivate you.

Set a Drinking Goal

Decide and set a cap on how much you will consume. You should keep your drinking below the recommended guidelines: not more than one recommended drink per day for women and for men ages 65 and above and not more than two standard drinks per day for men under 65. 

These limits may be too broad for people who have some medical conditions or for some older adults. Your doctor can help you find what’s right for you. 

Keep a Diary of your Drinking

For three to four weeks, record every time you consume a drink. Add information about what and how much you drank as well as where you were. Analyse this to your goal. If you need help completing your goal, discuss it with your doctor.

Don’t Keep Alcohol In Your House

Having no alcohol at your home can help reduce your drinking. 

Drink Slowly 

Sip your drink slowly. Drink soda, water, or juice after drinking an alcoholic beverage. Avoid drinking on an empty stomach.

Conclusion

Alcohol blunts judgment, inhibitions and concentration, and in excessive amounts, leads to drowsiness and coma.

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