#1 Hangovers
how alcohol affects your health man with hangover Photo by Shutterstock The most immediate way alcohol negatively affects your health is by giving you a hangover. This can range from basic headache and dry mouth symptoms, to severe nausea, vomiting, and anxiety. Many people assume these effects are caused by dehydration. However, poor sleep and the chemicals released by alcohol’s breakdown process are also to blame.
While there are a few hangover remedies you can try, the only sure way to avoid hangovers is to keep your drinking to a minimum.
#2 Alcohol Poisoning
If someone drinks more than their body can handle, they may end up in the emergency room for alcohol poisoning. While we may assume this only happens to young and inexperienced drinkers, it can happen to anyone who binge drinks. Even if you simply pass out, your blood alcohol level can keep rising while you’re sleeping. Alcohol poisoning can lead to permanent brain damage and death, so if you see someone who might be suffering from the symptoms, it’s important to get help.
#3 Brain Health
Alcohol has a number of negative short-term effects on your brain while you’re drinking. These include trouble concentrating, poor judgment, and slower reaction time. Long-term, the consequences are even more troubling:
- Frequent heavy drinking can cause several types of brain damage, both directly and indirectly.
- Chronic alcohol use can lead to thiamine deficiency, which in turn can cause Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. This disorder mostly affects alcohol-dependent people, and causes confusion, inability to coordinate movement, eye movement abnormalities, and memory loss.
- Studies show that binge drinkers expend more attentional effort to complete a task. They also have a harder time deciding which information is relevant or irrelevant.
#4 Increased Risk of Depression and Anxiety
Having a drink may reduce your social anxiety at a party, but it can actually make things worse in the long run. The next day, or even a few hours later, you may feel increased anxiety and depression. In fact, having alcohol use disorder (AUD) may actually double your risk of having a depression disorder. It can even increase your risk of suicide significantly.
Alcohol can seem to soothe anxiety and depression at times, but in reality it tends to contribute to a negative feedback cycle, undermining your emotional well-being.
#5 Damage to Organs & Increased Cancer Risk
Over time, excessive drinking can lead to conditions like alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, fatty liver, and liver disease. Drinking can also affect the pancreas and cause pancreatitis. The kidneys aren’t safe from alcohol either: The dehydration caused by drinking can affect kidney function and blood pressure, possibly leading to kidney disease. As if that weren’t enough, heavy drinking has been linked to pancreatic, liver, breast, mouth, throat, and colon cancer.
#6 Digestion Issues
how alcohol affects your health woman clutching stomach Photo by Shutterstock Aside from the pancreas, alcohol can also affect the stomach lining and the production of acid. This can contribute to ulcers and affect the breakdown of nutrients. Over time, this can cause nutrient deficiencies and blood sugar control problems.
Heavy drinking can also cause intestinal permeability, allowing for more toxins to enter the bloodstream from your digestive system. This can result in inflammation, which can be the root cause of many other health problems.
#7 Sleep Problems
You might think that a drink before bed will make it easier to fall asleep, but this isn’t always the case. Research shows that during drinking and withdrawal periods, those with AUD commonly have trouble falling asleep, and a decreased total sleep time.
Even if you do manage to get to sleep, alcohol has been shown to reduce the rapid eye movement (REM) phase of rest. Skimping on this sleep stage could mean daytime drowsiness and trouble concentrating.
Those who frequently overdrink are also more likely to have sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea.
#8 Interfering with Medications
Drinking alcohol with many medications can cause harmful reactions, such as:
- Vomiting
- Headaches
- Blood pressure changes
- Drowsiness
- Loss of coordination and accidents
- Liver damage
- Heart problems
Having no reaction doesn’t mean the combination is safe. Alcohol could still be making your medication less effective. And even if it’s okay to drink on your medication, the combination may make your hangover symptoms worse. This is quite a list of health consequences. And although alcohol may have some minor health benefits, for many people the negatives will far outweigh the positives. That said, you may not have to stop drinking completely to see improvements in your physical and mental health. Moderation can go a long way towards balancing the effects of alcohol on your body. If you’re having trouble changing your drinking habits, we’re here to help. Ria Health’s telemedicine app combines anti-craving medication with coaching and digital tools to help you cut back or quit drinking. You don’t need to put your life on hold to change your relationship with alcohol. Get in touch with us today to learn more.
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