Effects of Alcohol on the Brain

The effects of alcohol on the brain can be severe and life threatening. This article will give you more information on the negative effects of alcohol on the human brain. Read on.

Alcohol is consumed by a most people on a regular basis. Unfortunately, most of the people are aware of the harmful and long term negative effects of consuming alcohol but even then they continue having it. There are several factors as to why people consume alcohol excessively. But it is very important to be aware of the harmful effects of alcohol on the body. Alcohol affects nearly all important organs of the body.

When a person consumes alcohol, it directly gets mixed in his blood stream which then affects the central nervous system. This can have a severe effect in case a person consumes fairly large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. You must be wondering what are the effects of alcohol on your body? The effects of alcohol vary from person to person and are depended on the amount of alcohol consumed in a specified time limit. Here we will read more on the damaging effects of alcohol on the brain. Let us take a look at it in detail.

Negative Effects of Alcohol on the Brain Alcohol affects different parts of the brain like the cerebral cortex, the limbic system, cerebellum, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, medulla, etc. Severe alcoholism

can obstruct the functioning of many other parts of the body as the brain is responsible for carrying out different functions in the body. The following are the short and long term effects of alcohol on the brain and body.

Short Term Effects of Alcohol on the Brain The short term effects are the alcohol side effects

that appear immediately and do not last for long. The following are the short term effects of alcohol on your body and brain.

• Loss of fine motor skills

• Slower reaction time

• Blurred vision

• Poor judgment

• Talkativeness

• Slurred speech

• Loss of senses

• Excitement

• Feeling of calmness

• Extreme sleepiness

• Staggering Long Term Effects of Alcohol on the Brain The long term effects of alcohol on your body are very severe and can even be irreversible sometimes. The following are the long term general effects of alcohol on the brain.

• Memory loss

• Blackouts

• Memory lapses

• Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

• Decrease in sexual performance

• Shrinking of blood vessels

• Increase in blood pressure

• Raises endorphin and dopamine levels

• Inhibits glutamate receptor function

• Insomnia

• Hallucinations

• Brain shrinking

• Dementia

• Delusions Apart from the above mentioned ones, other effects of alcohol on the brain include its effect on the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland in secretion of hormones. Excess alcohol consumption can lead to over or under secretion of certain hormones, which can in turn, have a negative effect on the body. For e.g., the under secretion of the Anti-Diuretic Hormone (ADH) can affect the functioning of the kidneys leading to kidney disorders. Secondly, excessive consumption of alcohol leads to a condition known as alcohol poisoning

which is a life threatening condition and can lead to death.

On the other hand, alcohol also has a negative effect on the growth and brain of the fetus or the baby. It can lead to impaired growth, mental retardation, etc. Therefore, pregnant women should not consume alcohol at all, or rather stop long before planning a baby. Apart from these negative effects of alcohol on your body, brain damage is the ultimate and fatal consequence of consuming large amounts of alcohol regularly for a longer period of time.

These were the short and long term effects of alcohol on the brain. So, one should rather stop drinking alcohol. Lastly, as a concluding note, one should remember that, it is possible to prevent all the above mentioned conditions by being a complete teetotaler. Take care!