1. Alcohol Disrupts Communication Between Nerve Cells
Communication between different sections of the brain occurs through electrical charges enabled by neurotransmitters. The "talking" between nerve cells allows for strong coordination and decision-making. It is what allows you to move your body whenever and however you want. Alcohol slows down or completely disrupts this communication, which can affect your mood and cause loss of control of many bodily functions.
2. Drinking Affects Cognitive Skills
Cells controlling memory, sleep, coordination, attention and judgment are most susceptible to the effects of alcohol. Even one drink can affect these cognitive abilities. Multiple drinks, especially over a short period of time, can have dramatic and dangerous effects on these abilities. For example, drinking alcohol might lead to poor decision-making that you later regret, such as going home with someone you just met or not using a condom during sexual intercourse. Driving after alcohol use can lead to deadly accidents. You might not be able to remember what happened before or while you were out drinking. Blackouts can be particularly scary because you lose complete memory of anything you might have done or said during this time.
3. Alcohol Use Can Be Depressing
A strong relationship exists between alcohol and depression. People who are depressed are more likely to drink, and people who drink are more likely to be depressed. While at first, alcohol can make you feel happy and more confident, silly and worry-free, continued drinking leads to depression of the brain and central nervous system. When alcohol wears off, it can leave you feeling more depressed than ever before. Drinking can also cause respiratory depression, which means decreased ability to control your breathing due to damage to the nerve cells.
4. Different Factors Contribute to How Alcohol Affects the Brain
Many aspects of your life and behavior can influence how alcohol affects the mind. Factors include age, gender, family history, how often and how much you drink, how old you were when you started drinking, whether or not you experienced prenatal exposure to alcohol, and your overall state of health. If you are a teenager, alcohol can be particularly dangerous to the final developmental stages of your brain. It is not known how much of the damage caused by drinking during adolescence can be reversed later in life.
5. Long-Term Alcohol Abuse Can Cause Major Damage to the Brain
Occasional consumption of a few drinks can lead you to have trouble talking and walking, blurry vision, and slower reaction times, all of which go away shortly after drinking stops. Larger amounts of alcohol can cause these problems to be more severe and last longer. Over time, heavy drinking causes permanent damage to nerve cells, which can lead to irreversible memory loss and personality changes.
