Alcohol is known to act as a depressant on your central nervous system. This means that when you drink, your brain cells communicate slower than normal. The systems that control emotions such as fear and anxiety are also affected. As the function of this system decreases, it is possible for your inhibitions to disappear and you can be more outgoing and social. Drinking alcohol also leads to a more impulsive behavior and poor judgment.
Your body can function quite normally at lower doses, but once the dose increases, so do the effects. At one point your cerebellum will also be impacted and it plays a significant role in muscle activity. As a result, you may lose your balance and feel dizzy. That is why it is not recommended to drive under these circumstances.
Alcohol affects people differently
Even if you and your friend drink the same beverage and the same amount, your friend will be affected differently than you. There are a lot of factors that need to be taken into consideration: body weight, the ratio of fat and muscle, health status and even genetic makeup affects how much alcohol enters your bloodstream. Whether you have eaten or not also affects alcohol absorption.
In the U.S. alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance
More than 1 in 12 Americans are alcohol abusers. Alcohol-related deaths reached 30,700 Americans in 2014, a new 35-year record high. This means that around 9,6 persons died from alcohol poisonings and cirrhosis per 100,000 people in 2014 alone. This is a 37% increase since 2002 and the numbers are still climbing. But this does not count alcohol-related crimes, drink driving and other accidents. If these are taken into consideration, the numbers would be closer to 90,000 deaths.
Recent studies have shown that between all recreational drugs such as tobacco, alcohol and marijuana, on an individual level alcohol is the deadliest and falls into the “high-risk category”.
Alcohol poisoning hospital visits have doubled
Since 1999, the alcohol poisonings have doubled, and alcohol related liver diseases patients have also doubled in number in the last nine years. Most alcohol poisonings were highest among females aged 15 to 19 and in men aged 45 to 64.
Alcohol poisoning can even impair your body leading to a total shutdown of the area of the brain that is in charge of life support functions such as heart rate, breathing and temperature control. Men are less vulnerable than women to alcohol poisoning because they have more body water percentage in their body.
It is said that one glass of red wine a day will keep your heart strong for when you will be 90. Even dietary scientific reports showed that a moderate consumption of alcohol has its benefits. But if you drink too much you damage your body, maybe beyond repair.
