Alcohol is typically a significant element of a person's social life, from nights out with friends to office parties.
When you're out having fun, you're probably not thinking about the effects of alcohol on your health. Sure, you're aware that it's unhealthy for you. But do you understand why?
Our knowledgeable doctors can help you understand the short- and long-term consequences of binge drinking and help you make informed decisions about your alcohol usage.
What are the short-term consequences of alcohol consumption?
Have you ever woken up with the 'terror' before a big night out? When you've had a couple too many drinks, here's what happens to your body and behavior...
If you're reading this, you're probably all too familiar with the short-term impacts of alcohol.
These are things you notice throughout your drinking session or the next morning when you're nursing a hangover. But why do they happen in the first place? Let's have a look.
Poor choices
Alcohol has an effect on your central nervous system, and one of the first places you'll notice it is in the portion of your brain that controls your emotions and behavior.
As the night progresses, you're more likely to do something you'll come to regret later. You might start drinking costly drinks, telling people how you actually feel about them, or engaging in unprotected sexual activity.
In extreme situations, you may even make a decision that puts your life in jeopardy.
Problems with coordination
To put it another way, you're tumbling over.
As you consume more alcohol, your brain's neurotransmitters take longer to pass messages around, slowing your reaction time. You're more prone to misjudge a step or just fail to stay in a straight line when this happens.
After just a couple of drinks, your vision will begin to blur as well. You'll be much less coordinated if you can't see where you're going.
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Peech difficulties
The more alcohol you consume, the more likely your speech will become slurred. It'll start out as a random word here and there. However, as you drink more, it will become more difficult to finish your words.
Because your brain responds more slowly than your muscles, it might be difficult to get a reaction from the muscles required to create words.
Because your inhibitions are reduced, you'll be less ashamed if you make a grammatical error. This means you'll keep talking even while your slurring worsens, making it more visible to people around you.
Digestive problems
Your gut lining becomes irritated when you drink alcohol. Forcing your stomach to deal with a significant volume in a short period of time can cause acid reflux or even make you throw up.
Alcohol also causes your gut to work more quickly than usual, especially if you didn't eat before starting to drink. Normally, as waste passes through your gut, it absorbs water into your body.
There's no time for that when booze is involved. The result is a brief spell of diarrhoea.
A restless night's sleep
This one can be a bit perplexing. After all, you'll usually reward yourself with a long nap after a night out. Why isn't a good night's sleep enough to get you back in shape? The answer is that number and quality are not synonymous.
You'll spend less time in the deep sleep' stage, when your body does most of its renewing and recharging, because alcohol interrupts your natural sleep cycle.
Instead, you'll spend more time in the REM sleep stage, during which you'll have nightmares and your brain will be quite active.
A restless night's sleep
This one can be a bit perplexing. After all, you'll usually reward yourself with a long nap after a night out. Why isn't a good night's sleep enough to get you back in shape? The answer is that number and quality are not synonymous.
Constantly needing to pee
Alcohol inhibits the synthesis of a hormone called vasopressin, which typically instructs your kidneys to reabsorb water rather than passing it to your bladder.
Not only will you be dehydrated and your hangover will be worse the next day if you have to rejoin the toilet queue for the tenth time, but you will also be dehydrated.
It also demonstrates why drinking water in the evening is beneficial. It may seem counterintuitive if you're already going to the bathroom frequently, but it will undoubtedly aid in the fight against dehydration.
What about long-term consequences?
This is where things start to get serious. Drinking more than the recommended weekly limit of 14 units over a long period of time has health repercussions, as you might expect.
You may not notice them today, or even tomorrow, but your risk increases as the months and years pass. Here's what you'll need to know.
Putting on weight
Alcohol has a lot of calories. Your body will not be able to use them because they have no nutritious value.
In your body's metabolism, empty calories will always take precedence. This implies that a lot of other important things, including fat burning, will have to wait.
As a result, any additional fat will go up on your waistline while your body works to burn off the calories from all the wine you've consumed. Hello, beer belly.
Let's not forget that many people like a fried takeaway after a night of drinking. That isn't going to help either.
Skin-related issues
The effects of a night of drinking on your health are numerous, but one of the most visible is dryness of your skin.
When you're dehydrated, your skin is more likely to become dry, which can lead to more significant skin problems. If you go asleep without removing your makeup on a regular basis, your pores may clog and acne may develop.
IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO MANAGE YOUR DRINKING!
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Heart-related issues
High blood pressure has been linked to drinking more alcohol than the recommended weekly limit on a regular basis.
This can damage your arteries and put more strain on your heart, raising your risk of stroke and heart disease. This is much more likely if you're overweight, don't get enough exercise, or have a family history of heart disease.
Depression
Alcohol is a sedative substance. It can alter the chemical equilibrium in your brain and lower your mood over time.
It has the power to distort your perception of events, making them appear considerably more terrible than they actually are. It's easy for those who believe they need a drink to relax to fall into a vicious cycle.
Long-term binge drinking can have a negative impact on both your job and personal relationships. These circumstances can cause stress, worry, and unhappiness.
Cirrhosis
Your liver handles the majority of the work when it comes to digesting the alcohol you consume. It isn't invincible, however, and years of consuming high amounts of alcohol can lead to cirrhosis.
This is a severe type of liver disease that stops the organ from functioning normally.
While cirrhosis does not necessarily cause symptoms in the early stages, you should consult a doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms:
Tiredness
Nausea
Appetite problems
Insufficiency in sex desire
Itchy, yellow skin
excrement that is quite dark
I'm coughing blood.
Swelling in your legs or stomach is a common symptom.
Cirrhosis cannot be cured, however treatment can help to delay the progression of the disease.
The risk of cancer is increased.
According to Cancer Research UK, alcohol is responsible for roughly 4% of cancer cases in the UK.
There is no defined amount of alcohol or type of alcohol that is linked to this. It's well knowledge that drinking more than 14 units of alcohol each week raises the chance of mouth, throat, breast, or bowel cancer.
When drinking is combined with other variables such as smoking, a poor diet, or a family history of cancer, the risk of cancer rises.
IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO MANAGE YOUR DRINKING!
DON'T LET IT MANAGE YOU!
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