How Does Alcohol Affect the Brain?

There is no question that drinking too much alcohol is bad for the human body in many ways. This extends to how alcohol affects the brain and what trouble alcohol gets people into.

Alcohol’s effects on the brain lead to a downward spiral of destruction to the individual’s health, family relationships, and career. However, an alcohol rehab center in Florida can help your brain heal after addiction. Some of the effects of alcohol on the brain are reversible no matter how long alcohol use disorder has controlled your life.

How Does Alcohol Affect the Brain?

There are many ways in which alcohol affects the brain and cognitive facilities. A quick look at alcohol and the brain provides insight into the following effects:

• Difficulty walking
• Blurry vision
• Slurred speech
• Slowed reactions
• Impaired memory, including blackouts
• Loss of inhibitions
• Poor decision making
• Poor judgment

Most of these effects start appearing after only one or two alcoholic drinks. After drinking has stopped and the person returns to being sober, these effects are also gone. But someone who drinks too much over a long period of time can develop bigger and more lasting problems to their brain matter.

How and to what extent a brain is hurt by drinking depends upon many factors. These factors include:

• How much alcohol they drink
• Age of first drink
• How long drinking has gone on
• Age
• Education level
• Gender
• Genetics
• Family history of drinking
• General health

Long Term Effects on the Brain

From social drinkers to those diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder, there are long-term effects of alcohol on the brain. Alcohol causes high blood pressure, irregular heart rates, and more that lead to physical medical conditions like fatty liver disease.

Often overlooked is the psychological ramifications of drinking. The gray and white matter in the brain is reduced as alcohol abuse occurs. A temporary mood change can turn into an alcohol-induced psychological syndrome. This is why addiction therapy services are so crucial during recovery.

Millions who suffer from a substance use disorder will also experience a mental illness at some point in their lives. Alcohol is a depressant, affecting the neurotransmitters in the brain responsible for happiness. As alcohol use continues, the body gets used to this level of alcohol and dependent on it for the right release of chemicals in the brain. Without it, there is a deficit. This leads to reversible and sometimes permanent mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, sleeping disorder, and depressive disorders.

Specific Conditions Caused by Alcohol Overuse

Some health conditions are damaging for the long term, as a result of alcohol abuse. Others can be reversed or healed through addiction treatment services and recovery. Common symptoms of alcoholism suffered by people who drink too much include:

• Blackouts and memory lapses during drinking
• Liver damage that is often fatal, commonly cirrhosis
• Alcohol-related damage to the heart muscle, also fatal to many
• Nerve damage affecting physical functioning in arms and legs
• Poor nutrition, leading to serious brain conditions like Wernicke–Korsakoff Syndrome
• Fetal alcohol syndrome in unborn babies to drinking mothers, causing physical, mental, and behavioral disabilities

Researchers are still working on learning what specific damage alcohol causes to the brain. These scientists note that most people who stop drinking for good show improvement in their brain structure and functions. Within a year of becoming sober, improvements can be seen.

Beaches Recovery Treats Alcohol Addiction for Healthy Recovery

Your brain is your best asset in life. If you continue drinking every night or otherwise abusing alcohol, you will only continue damaging your brain. Find help through our alcohol rehab programs that include:

• Residential addiction treatment
• Alcohol detox at our partner facility
• Alcohol addiction rehab
• Intensive outpatient program (IOP)
• Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT)
• Trauma and PTSD therapy
• Fresh start DUI program

If you are ready to stop drinking and start rebuilding all parts of your life and health, contact Beaches Recovery at 866.605.0532.