Alcohol shrinks your brain, lowers your spirits and may even make you lose your memory
Eisha Sarkar
When was the last time you’d woken up feeling fresh after partying all night? Wasn't alcohol supposed to give you a high? Then why did you feel like you were plummeting into the abyss of depression? Now, here's the secret that labels on the liquor bottles don't tell you: alcohol can damage your brain.
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| "Drinking doesn't cause a hangover, waking up does." |
Toxic mind
Though a small amount of alcohol may help you relax and feel less anxious, in increasing amounts, alcohol will suppress the part of your brain that controls judgement, resulting in inappropriate behaviour and a loss of inhibitions. Alcohol is a contributing factor to many assaults, incidents of domestic violence and fatal road accidents.
Alcohol has a toxic effect on the central nervous system (CNS) and can results in changes to metabolism, heart functioning and blood supply. It interferes with the absorption of vitamin B1 (thiamine), which is an important brain nutrient. It can cause dehydration, which may lead to wastage of brain cells, shrinking your brain. It can also lead to falls and accidents that injure the brain.
Alcohol can cause dementia
Excessive drinking over a long period of time can result in Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a form of dementia. There are very few qualitative differences between alcohol dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and it is therefore difficult to distinguish the two. Some of the warning signs may include memory loss, difficulty performing familiar tasks, poor or impaired judgment and problems with language. The biggest indicator would be friends or family members reporting changes in personality. Because these warning signs are so similar, alcohol dementia can be difficult to diagnose.
Why do you feel so low?
Since alcohol is a known depressant, people with depression shouldn't drink. The depression caused by alcohol actually starts with your physical body. First, it lowers the serotonin and norepinephrine levels in your brain. These chemicals give you a feeling of well being and help you to feel normal.
Alcohol also temporarily nullifies the effects of stress hormones. This is why after drinking you feel worse than ever, because alcohol depresses your nervous system and your brain.
Alcohol can activate a gene that has been linked to depression and other mental issues. The result of this activation can cause not only depression, but seizures, and manic depressive episodes as well.
Drinking adds wrinkles to your face
Wonder why people who drink too much look too old for their age? A new Italian study shows that alcohol consumption speeds up the ageing process and raises the risk of cancer. Researchers have found that drinking damages part of the cells that are linked to premature ageing and cancer. They discovered that it causes stress and inflammation to telomeres – the ends of DNA strands that stop them unravelling much like the ends of shoe-laces. As people age, telomere length shortens progressively and eventually they are so damaged the cell dies. The study found alcohol accelerates this process. Alcohol also dehydrates the skin as well as the body while feeding it toxins which results in wrinkles and skin damage.
Watch how much you drink
Avoiding alcohol altogether will go a long way in keeping your health intact. But if you can't resist the temptation to drink, drink moderately and occasionally. Here are some guidelines that you may follow to avoid risking addiction.
- For men and women: A maximum of two standard alcoholic drinks a day with at least two alcohol-free days every week.
- Children and youth: The safest choice for young people under 18 years of age is not to drink at all. Young people under 15 years of age are at the greatest risk of harm from drinking and are advised not to drink alcohol.
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women: The safest choice is not to drink alcohol while pregnant or breastfeeding or if you are planning to become pregnant.
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