To begin with, let’s hear from the experts who seems to have nothing to hide:
“Heavy drinkers reports 30% more memory-related issues than non-drinkers”[1] Paraphrased from a study published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
“Heavy drinking and binge drinking can result in permanent damage to the brain and nervous system.”[2] From Alcohol Rehab Guide, an extensive online resources on alcohol and alcoholism.
“Women are more vulnerable than men to many of the medical consequences of alcohol use.” [3] Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
“Alcohol blocks REM sleep”.[4] (REM phase of sleep is when memories get cemented in our minds) Paraphrase of Professor Matthew Walker of the University of California, Berkeley as featured in an article by The Atlantic.
When alcohol is mentioned, what comes to your mind? Party? A way to drown your sorrow for a while? A drink that has not helped you but that you are hopelessly addicted to? A way to simply live the modern way of life?
These sample answers might represent the typical view of many people regarding alcohol, but behind these views lies a reality that has been underplayed. This reality is also little-acknowledged by the producers of alcohol, the media, and especially the consumers of alcohol.
We don’t need to reveal the full reality of alcohol on human life within the first three paragraphs of this article, there is plenty of space for that later. In fact, there is plenty of that kind of stuff already on the internet!
But if we are to suddenly announce to you on this fourth paragraph that a public health emergency should now be declared simply because people are consuming alcohol, you will believe we are mad.
However, at InfovoreSecrets, we are not mad. We are simply trying to say the truth wherever it is lacking, and that alcohol poses a SEVERE health risk is a truth that many Americans (indeed, the people of the world) are not very aware of.
Yes, they are not very aware of it. But yet, the reason cannot be purely attributed to deliberate ignorance.
The Reason and the Truth
The first truth about alcohol is that there can never be two truths about it. The truth is always one.
This means that it is better to ignore people and publications that claim that alcohol, while bad for health, still has certain advantages that your body can enjoy and therefore you should consume it!
Isn’t that strange?
It should be. It is a contradiction, and that assertion should not be given much consideration. It does not make much sense to tell people to consume alcohol just because it has some advantages. Even though the disadvantages clearly outweigh the advantages.
In fact, there is a lot of scientific evidence (readily available) indicating that alcohol is bad for our health.
However, the already pervasive culture of alcohol, the media, and various publications probably sponsored by alcoholic interest groups have helped in promoting the view that alcohol is good for you.
However, to prove or disprove the general goodness or evil of alcohol is not within our own scope at InfovoreSecrets, and it is certainly beyond the purview of this article.
Rather, our own focus at Infovore Secrets is to give you correct information on what will improve your memory and your life in general. And we have been doing that to the best of our ability.
So, with that kind of focus, it is natural we will dabble into discussing alcohol sooner or later because alcohol certainly has an effect on the brain and memory.
And when anything has an effect on the brain or memory, at Infovore Secrets, we got to discuss it!
So let’s do this again!
How Alcohol Affects the Brain And What Alcohol Does to the Human Memory
As the American Addiction Centers has pointed out, the active ingredient in popular alcoholic drinks like wine, beer, and spirits is ethyl alcohol or ethanol. This is known colloquially as alcohol. [5]
But it’s interesting to know that whatever brand name products containing alcohol are otherwise called, the alcoholic content itself is generally regarded as a drug, and it is treated as such in many objective publications and organizations dealing with it.
Alcohol is considered a drug because it “depresses the central nervous system and can disrupt mental and motor skills.”[6]
Among drugs, alcohol also ranks high in use. In fact, according to American Addiction Centers, alcohol is the most commonly abused drug in the United States. [7]
While many know how to drink alcohol, how exactly it colonize their brain, actions, memory and personality throughout the period of its stay in their body is unknown to them.
But the knowledge of this is quite important if we are to understand the problem it can beset on the brain and memory.
Let’s delve into it.
Once alcohol enters the body, it goes from the stomach to the intestines and is absorbed into the bloodstream, from where it travels to various organs in the body, to be absorbed again.
The liver is the organ that is responsible for processing alcohol. Unfortunately, this organ can only process a certain amount of alcohol at a time. This means that when someone drinks a large amount of alcohol, the liver is overwhelmed and becomes unable to process all the available alcohol.
This excess alcohol eventually flows back to the heart and brain and begins to cause unwanted effects/damage.
As soon as the alcohol gets to the CNS, it permeates the blood-brain barrier and subsequently starts acting DIRECTLY on the brain neurons.
These neurons numbered in the billions, and they are interconnected cells sometimes working in consonance to make you who you are.
The bad news is that alcohol appears to affect the communications between these neurons, and it can damage the neurons in the long run.
The entry of alcohol in the brain might not stop at the damage of neurons alone though, the actions of the cerebellum and cerebral cortex might also be impaired or slowed by the presence of alcohol. [8]
This means that certain automatic actions controlled by the cerebellum and cerebral cortex are disturbed. Hey! The cerebellum and cerebral cortex control actions like balance, breathing and processing new information!(8)
Now, you know why drunks stagger and wheeze!
Note that these effects materialize after only a few drinks. But they are candid biochemical processes, and that cycle will be repeated every other time alcohol is drunk.
It is not the end though. The effects experienced varies with the quantity of alcohol drunk, but the consequence on brain and mental health is unhelpful right from taking a single drop of alcohol up to taking a barrel! This we shall soon see.
What Quantity Is Best to Drink?
No one who drink alcohol can escape some of the effects described above. However, the severity of the effects will depend on other factors like the quantity drunk, health status of the drinker, age, and other factors.
In any case, prolonged and excessive alcohol use might invite dire and sometimes irreversible brain damage.
This is because alcohol interferes with how the brain functions, as well as how it is structured [9]. Constant problems are caused for the cerebellum and cerebral cortex every time alcohol is drunk. This is manifested in problems with balancing, breathing, processing new information, memory, and emotional response. [9]
In addition, alcohol reduces the electrical activity of neurons once it reaches the hippocampus. It does this by “binding to specialized protein that are embedded in the neuronal membrane”, says the Alcohol Pharmacology Education Partnership of Duke University. [10]
It is the decreased firing of impulses in the hippocampus that interrupts the formation of short-term memory (read more about memory formation here) in the hippocampus, and lead to the notorious “blackouts” users of alcohol often experience.
A blackout is a situation where users of alcohol do not remember anything that has been happening to them or around them after excessive consumption of alcohol.
Now, you know why drunks experience blackouts!
With all these and other problems for the memory, it is safe to say no quantity of alcohol is safe for drinking.
Who Should Drink It?
Alcohol has not been reputably proven to be good for any age group. Users of alcohol of any age group are affected by its effects on their memory, and this in turn negatively affect their life and the life of the people around them.
According to the CDC, in 2010, the United States lost $249 billion arising from its population’s use of alcohol. [11] The money is lost through criminal justice cost, healthcare expenditures, losses in workplace productivity and other expenses. [11]
The amount of productive time lost through the consumption of alcohol, the number of accidents, injuries and crimes that occurs under alcoholic influence and money spent on litigations surrounding all these probably outstrip the profit made from alcoholic business itself!
Remember these happens across all age groups.
The emotional troubles alcohol consumption caused on family relationships is also immeasurable. Under the influence of alcohol, elderly alcoholic family members can become aggressive towards children. As for the negative problem alcoholism has brought to the married men and women of various age groups, ah, that one is better left unsaid!
Despite all these though, alcohol is supremely harmful to older people.
According to Rachel Nall of Healthline.com, “Older individuals are more vulnerable to the short-and long-term effects of alcohol use on their brains.” [12]
This is because the older we get, the more sensitive our brain becomes to alcohol. As age advances, the metabolism of the human body also naturally slows down, but this also makes alcohol stay in the system of older people for longer! [12]
Altogether, this can cause serious memory problems in older people, especially when the degeneration of hippocampus cells is occurring at the same time (Degeneration of the hippocampus cells is a common problem among some older people that might cause them short-term memory loss.)
This doesn’t mean alcohol leaves the hippocampus of younger people untouched too! Alcohol easily impedes the activity of the hippocampus, an organ located at the base of the brain that is believed to be responsible for encoding of memories. This explains why blackouts is common among all age groups of alcohol consumers.
But before we round up this section, check WKS out, it’s just below.
Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, also known as WKS is a serious brain disorder connected to chronic alcoholic use. It is a type of dementia.
Although it is said that WKS is due to a deficiency in vitamin B1 (thiamine), this disease is closely associated with the chronic use of alcohol.
WKS gives symptoms like “confusion, paralysis of eye nerves and impaired muscle coordination”. In addition, WKS can also cause “persistent problems with memory and learning ability.” [13]
Even though scientists now know that symptoms of the disorder can be stopped from getting worse, the existence of this syndrome serves to prove one thing: that even if a chronic alcohol user engages in memory tasks and do a lot of exercise i.e lives a lifestyle favorable to brain health, their consumption for alcohol can still predispose them to have dementia-like disorders later in life!
With all these and other problems for the memory, it is safe to advise that nobody should ever drink alcohol if they want to maintain a superb memory and brain health for long.
Better Safe Than Sorry
Just like those who campaign against AIDS often say, abstinence is the best form of protection. This applies equally to alcohol.
To be really safe from the ill-effects of alcohol on the memory, and in extension, the brain and body health, it is just best to stay away from consuming it.
A million words essay cannot fully enumerate the unwholesome effects alcohol has had in the life of drinkers and those close to them.
While the American health system is already very expensive, it is pitiable to see poor families spending their hard-earned income treating preventable alcoholic problems. This shouldn’t continue!
If you have a weakness for alcohol or you are finding it difficult to break from the habit, always remember that every organ in your body feels the effect of your drinking, and if none fails now, one will definitely fail later if you don’t stop now.
Do you know that more than 2 million people in the United States suffer from liver disease due to the consumption of alcohol! [9] You certainly don’t want to be one of them!
Also, remember that you can seek help if you cannot do it alone. Breaking free of alcoholism is not easy, no doubt, but studies have shown that stopping its consumption can reverse much of the physical and cognitive damage caused by its consumption. [14] So, it is worth doing. Seek help.
Also according to a 27-year study published by the European Journal of Epidemiology, those who abstain from alcohol are less likely to develop dementia. [15]
There are more glad tidings for those who stay away from alcohol, but it had better be a real experience in their lives rather than reports given by us.
Quit alcohol today for better brain and body health. You deserve it.
Frequently Asked Questions on the Effects of Alcohol on the Memory:
Is Alcohol good for my memory?
No. Alcohol is not good for your memory. To get the full import of this, you will need to discount people and publications that claim that alcohol, while bad for the health, still have certain advantages your memory can enjoy! If there is any benefit, the risk clearly outweighs the benefits.
Objective studies have proven alcohol is not good for your brain health in the long-term.
What does alcohol does to my brain?
As soon as alcohol gets to your Central Nervous System, it permeates the blood-brain barrier and subsequently start acting DIRECTLY on the brain neurons.
Alcohol is toxic to these neurons and it can damage them. Alcohol gradually deteriorates your brain health.
What quantity of alcohol is safe?
No quantity of alcohol is safe. The best thing is to abstain from it to shield yourself from its unsavory effect, especially on your brain and memory.
References:
1. How Heavy Alcohol Use Can Damage Memory Function – https://www.verywellmind.com/alcohol-damages-day-to-day-memory-function-62982 (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
2.The Impact of Alcohol-Related Brain Damage – https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/resources/medical-conditions/alcohol-related-brain-damage/ (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
3. Alcohol and Public Health – https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
4. Even Small Amounts of Alcohol Impair Memory – https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/12/even-small-amounts-of-alcohol-impair-memory/548474/ (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
5. Short and Long Term Mental Effects of Alcohol – https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/mental-effects (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
6. Social Drinking vs. Problem Drinking – https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=1&contentid=870 (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
7. Short and Long Term Mental Effects of Alcohol – https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/mental-effects (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
8. “Alcohol’s Effect On Your Brain · University Of Puget Sound”. Pugetsound.Edu, 2020, https://www.pugetsound.edu/student-life/counseling-health-and-wellness/training-prevention/substance-abuse-prevention/alcohol-you/alcohols-effect-on-your-brain/. Accessed 21 Feb 2020.
9. Effect of Alcohol on the Body and Brain – https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/alcohol/effects/ (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
10. Alcohol Pharmacology Education Partnership: Alcohol, Memory, and the Hippocampus – https://sites.duke.edu/apep/module-3-alcohol-cell-suicide-and-the-adolescent-brain/content-alcohol-memory-and-the-hippocampus/ (Retrieved 7-2-2020)
11. Alcohol and Public Health – https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
12. How Alcohol Is Linked to Memory Loss – https://www.healthline.com/health/alcoholism/alcohol-and-memory-loss (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
13. Short and Long Term Mental Effects of Alcohol – https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/mental-effects (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
14. Cognitive Improvement and Alcohol Recovery – https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/education/bcr/addiction-research/alcohol-effects-brain-ru-515 (Retrieved 6-2-2020)
15. Alcohol consumption and risk of dementia up to 27 years later in a large, population-based sample: the HUNT study, Norway – https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10654-015-0029-2 (Retrieved 7-2-2020)
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