" Greg has been drinking alcohol since he was a teenager, he doesn't see what's wrong with it. When he drinks, he feels high and invincible, he's bold and confident. But his friends keep complaining that he forgets everything and his boss recently fired him for his lack of attention to his job."
The brain is not a standalone organ. What you eat, drink, and your lifestyle habits affect the health of your brain, and alcohol is a good example of this.
Alcohol is widely and easily available all around the globe, in fact, it is considered a key part of social gatherings. While heavily taxed in some areas, there are few places in the world where it is illegal to purchase and drink alcohol.
The impact of the alcohol on the human body has been thoroughly researched and results show that most body organs including the brain are affected when you consume large amounts of alcohol.
Today, we are going to explore the different ways in which alcohol disrupts brain function:
Cognitive impairment and brain damage
One major area of brain function affected by alcohol is cognition (thinking). In the short-term, alcohol affects your thought processes in observable ways such as slurred speech, incoherent speech, poor judgment, impulsive behavior, poor attention, low processing speed, and memory problems. This explains why you might be unable to remember what happened the night before.
In the long-term, it gets worse. Chronic alcohol use has been linked to mental health disorders, the development of conditions such as dementia, learning problems and memory difficulties. If chronic alcohol use is not managed in any way, the brain will suffer permanent damage.
Neurological diseases
As noted above, long-term alcohol use can cause significant cognitive impairments. Without treatment or management, impairments can blossom into severe disorders such as alcohol-related dementia and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, an irreversible brain disease that manifests as hallucinations. Alcohol-related dementia makes up 10% of total dementia cases and contributes significantly to 29% of other dementia cases.
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a permanent cognitive disorder caused by heavy alcohol use and malnutrition, especially a deficiency of vitamin B. This disorder can result in language and memory problems such as amnesia and may lead to a coma if not treated.
People going through alcohol withdrawal (what happens to the body in the absence of alcohol) may experience delirium tremens, a potentially fatal disorder characterized by extremely high temperatures, an increased risk of seizures, and hallucinations.
Change in brain function and structure
The first structural change in the brain caused by alcohol consumption is brain shrinkage. Brain imaging of people who are dependent on alcohol often shows shrinkage of the brain. Alcohol affects the medulla, which controls automatic processes such as body temperature, breathing, and consciousness. This is what makes alcohol fatal in large quantities as the actions of the medulla are slowed down.
Conclusion
Alcohol is socially accepted in almost all parts of the world, but that doesn't mean that it's healthy for you. The effects of alcohol are felt at low doses but heavy alcohol use will affect not just your brain but your liver, kidneys, and other important organs. It will also worsen existing physical and mental health problems.
If you struggle with alcohol use, you are not alone and help is widely available. Quick intervention can help save your life.
