Alcohol is a central nervous system (CNS) depressant that slows down your brain functioning, and by extension, your body’s systems as well. It is known to have a relaxing effect on the mind and body. While that may be, there are a lot of short and long-term side effects of alcohol, which you might want to overlook – but when alcohol use becomes heavy and prolonged, it impacts your liver, kidneys, and heart functioning.
Alcohol is the most widely used and misused recreational substance in the world. It is the center of every party or celebration, wherein it reduces your inhibitions and allows you to relax and socialize. This can make you feel good temporarily, but in the long run, it can lead to significant physical and psychological damage.
How Alcohol Affects the Body and Brain?
Alcohol interferes with the brain’s network of communication and can change its chemistry and functioning. It disrupts cognition and behavior, as alcohol targets the brain’s reward system to induce feelings of relaxation and peace – it slowly takes over priority in your life over everything else, wherein you crave more and more alcohol. This can damage your diet, health, relationships, and the experience of life itself.
Coming to the body, alcohol consumption hits the liver the hardest, as the liver is primarily responsible for breaking down alcohol. Furthermore, it can affect a myriad of other organs, such as the lungs, heart, immune system, and kidneys, among others.
Short-Term Effects of Drinking Alcohol
Within just a few minutes of consuming alcohol, it gets absorbed into your bloodstream and reaches the brain, after which you will experience certain pleasurable sensations and feelings of relaxation and peace.
However, not all of its effects are just as pleasing. You will also experience certain short-term unwanted side effects of alcohol, such as:
- Drowsiness
- Slurred speech
- Unsteady gait
- Headache
- Dehydration
- Hangover – involving dry mouth, headache, vomiting, fatigue, and restlessness.
Long-Term Physical Effects of Alcohol
While moderate or controlled alcohol consumption is deemed more or less safe, alcohol is a very addictive substance. It can quickly spiral into heavy, uncontrolled drinking that can lead to hundreds of other health complications. This is not an exaggeration, as evidence has shown that alcohol contributes to the following physical health complications:
- Liver disease, including liver cirrhosis and hepatitis
- Pancreatitis
- Stomach ulcers
- Osteoporosis
- Immune system deficiencies
- Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
- Increased risk of cancer.
Apart from the above, as alcohol adversely impacts judgment and movement, it can also lead to assaults, falls, accidents, burns, or drowning as well.
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Long-Term Effects on the Brain and Mental Health
In the context of alcohol and mental health, we need to discuss the long-term effects of alcohol on the brain, as the brain is the organ of the mind. Alcohol changes brain chemistry and functioning in a way that drinking becomes the priority in your life – this leads to the following effects on your mental health:
- Mood shifts
- Impulsive behavior
- Sleep troubles
- Focus and memory troubles
- Alcohol-induced mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and psychosis.
- Dependence
- Withdrawal symptoms of restlessness, anxiety, hallucinations, and delirium, among others, may occur if you reduce/stop alcohol intake.
How Alcohol Affects Sleep, Nutrition, and Hormones?
Heavy and prolonged drinking can affect some important bodily functions, such as your sleep, nutrition, and hormones.
Sleep Disruption
It might be surprising to learn that alcohol adversely impacts sleep, as it is known to have a relaxing effect on your mind and body. The typical sleep cycle consists of three non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages and one rapid eye movement (REM) stage. Each stage is important for a good night’s sleep, but alcohol in your system means less REM sleep than your mind and body actually need. So, this means that you might experience frequent wakefulness and low-quality sleep in general.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Coming to nutrition, your mind and body need a balanced diet to feel energized and function optimally. However, alcohol can disrupt your metabolism and nutrient absorption. Even more so, alcohol also takes over the importance of food in your life, where you feel like drinking the first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or skipping meals in favor of alcohol. Together, these factors lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies and other health complications.
Hormonal Imbalances
Alcohol can disrupt the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which regulates the stress response and other bodily functions. It can also interfere with insulin and glucagon, which regulate your blood sugar levels, leading to hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, diabetes, and even pancreatitis.
When to Be Concerned About Alcohol Use?
It is difficult to recognize when social drinking spirals into heavy and chronic alcohol use. But here are some signs and symptoms of alcohol use as provided by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) that you can follow to understand whether you or your loved one can benefit from treatment:
- Strong cravings and urges to use alcohol.
- Frequent and heavier drinking than intended.
- Spending a lot of time acquiring and drinking alcohol.
- Prioritizing alcohol use over other things in life, like education, employment, family, and other relationships.
- Drinking despite its ill effects on physical and psychological health.
- Using alcohol under dangerous circumstances, such as driving or operating heavy machinery.
- Developing tolerance – need more quantities of alcohol to experience the desired effect.
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms – highly unpleasant physical and mental symptoms upon reducing or stopping alcohol intake suddenly.
Reversibility and Recovery
Alcohol use is a severe condition – it impacts your mind and body. However, this does not mean that one cannot recover from alcohol use. While early intervention and care enhance the prognosis, there are several inpatient and outpatient treatment options that meet you where you are in your recovery.
Alcohol use disorder requires a systematic approach to treatment, involving:
Medically Supervised Detoxification (Detox)
Detox is generally the first step to alcohol use treatment. It gradually tapers off alcohol from the body under medically safe and supervised conditions so as to minimize and manage cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapeutic interventions involving motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, contingency management, and 12-step recovery models are used to uncover and change the underlying patterns leading to alcohol use.
Medication Management
Medications involving disulfiram and naltrexone are prescribed, monitored, and adjusted to manage symptoms and reduce the risk of relapse.
Aftercare
Recovery is not a destination; it is an ongoing journey. You might need ongoing therapy/counseling, medication management, relapse prevention, sober living, and social support involving 12-step and non-12-step meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and SMART Recovery that provide you with an environment where you can open up about your struggles, learn from others’ experiences, and take ownership of your own recovery.
Your Healing Begins Today!
Breaking free from alcohol use can feel overwhelming, but recovery can be your reality with holistic, integrated care options. At Sober Living West, we provide a safe, structured environment where you can build on the progress made during detox or rehabilitation (rehab). Our supervised sober living homes for men offer the stability and community you need to strengthen your sobriety and confidently transition to independent living. Reach out to us at (310) 218-5158 to learn how our personalized sober living programs can benefit you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Immediate side effects can include drowsiness, slurred speech, unsteady movement, and impaired judgment.
Chronic alcohol use leads to liver disease, heart disease, immune deficiencies, and increased cancer risk.
Yes, it can lead to mood swings, memory loss, sleep troubles, and mental health disorders like anxiety or depression.
Alcohol disrupts REM sleep, nutrient absorption, and hormone regulation, affecting your overall health and energy.
If drinking interferes with your health, relationships, or daily responsibilities, it may be time to seek help.