Author: John Carter

Does Drinking Alcohol Kill Brain Cells?

It damages your brain cells,” explains Akhil Anand, MD, an addiction psychiatrist at the Cleveland Clinic. “Specifically, when you’re younger, your brain is going through a lot of changes. A huge risk factor for people who develop alcohol use disorder is early-onset drinking. So, if you drink before the age of 14, there’s about a 50% chance you’re going to develop an alcohol use disorder in your adulthood,” explains Dr. Anand. Alcohol can have additional effects on developing brains, which are more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol.

1. Korsakoff syndrome often appears after an episode of Wernicke’s encephalopathy, which is acute alcohol-related brain dysfunction.
2. Alcohol use disorder (or alcoholism) is also a clear issue for the brain.
3. Drinking in moderation is defined as one or fewer drinks per day for females and two or fewer drinks per day for males.
4. Alcohol affects your mental health by prolonging symptoms like irritability and disrupted sleep, and exacerbating symptoms of anxiety and depression.
5. Doctors have not yet established a safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, so the best strategy for preventing fetal alcohol syndrome is to abstain altogether from alcohol at this time.

Long-term heavy drinking causes alterations in the neurons, such as reductions in their size. Obviously, this does not mean that people should ignore the potential dangers of alcohol. While the long-term effects of alcohol on the brain can be quite serious, most of them of the damage is reversible is you stop drinking. Even brain atrophy can start to reverse after a few weeks of avoiding alcohol. Heavy drinking can also lead to a thiamine deficiency, which can cause a neurological disorder called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

Alcohol-related brain damage

In this post, we’ll explore the current science and some practical ideas on how to approach the topic. Alcohol can act as a social lubricant and provide “liquid courage” for people who are anxious or shy, but do not rely on it too much. You may want to avoid or limit alcohol if it allows you to engage in behaviors you would not normally engage in. Dr. Anand stresses the importance of drinking in moderation, if at all. You’ve had a stressful day and want to unwind with a glass of wine.

Alcohol and Memory Loss

Alcohol is a neurotoxin that can affect your brain cells directly and indirectly. It enters your bloodstream immediately and reaches your brain within five minutes of drinking it. And it typically takes only 10 minutes to start feeling some of the effects. The two conditions, together called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, happen in people who are severely deficient in thiamine (vitamin B-1). Over time, excessive alcohol consumption can damage both the brain and liver, causing lasting damage.

Is There a “Safe” Amount of Alcohol for the Brain?

Research has found an increased prevalence of AUD and heavy drinking, primarily among women. Talk to a healthcare provider if you have a history of addiction or dependence. Moderate alcohol consumption is the best strategy for reducing the risk of alcohol-related brain damage. People who binge drink, drink to the point of poor judgment, or deliberately become drunk many times each month have a much higher risk of alcohol-related brain damage. The precise symptoms of alcohol-related brain damage depend on a person’s overall health, how much they drink, and how well their liver functions, among other factors. We know, for example, that severe alcoholic liver disease has an indirect effect on the brain.

The Known Brain-Damaging Effects of Excess Alcohol

A study published in 2014 found that heavy drinking can speed up memory loss in early old age in men. The researchers noted that men who had more than 2.5 drinks per day showed signs of cognitive decline up to six years earlier than those who did not drink, quit drinking, or were light-to-moderate drinkers. A study published in 2021 found that heavy drinking may lead to loss of brain volume. The researchers noted that people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) had less brain matter than others.

Does Drinking Kill Brain Cells?

In addition to dementia, long-term alcohol use can lead to other memory disorders like Korsakoff syndrome or Wernicke’s encephalopathy. Consuming alcohol while pregnant can cause permanent damage to the developing brain and other organs of the fetus. Perhaps the most significant psychological effect, however, is addiction. Over time, people who consume large quantities of alcohol develop a tolerance to the drug. This dependency means that their brains crave the drug, causing them to experience withdrawal when they do not drink. Severe alcohol overdoses may cause permanent brain damage even if the person survives.

Alcohol poisoning

While drinking can certainly make you act and feel as though you’ve lost a brain cell or two, there’s no evidence that this actually happens. People with a history of alcohol misuse may not be able to consume alcohol safely. For pregnant women and young people under the age of 18, the guidelines say not drinking is the safest option. There is debate about whether permanent brain damage is caused directly or indirectly. Well, it’s true that alcohol can indeed harm the brain in many ways. In an acute sense, consumption of alcohol can lead to uninhibited behavior, sedation, lapses in judgment, and impairments in motor function.

High alcohol consumption can damage your brain and the rest of your body. The effects of alcohol on the brain also depend on the type of drink and its concentration. Therefore, a small quantity of a high-alcohol drink can have the same impact as a larger amount of a weaker drink. Eating food alongside alcohol can also slow its absorption into the bloodstream, helping to moderate these effects.

Over the long term, regular alcohol use can lead to persistent memory problems and increase the risk of developing dementia. Conversely, other recent data suggest a lower risk for dementia in people consuming a few alcoholic beverages a day. This includes a 2022 study showing that in around 27,000 people, consuming up to 40 grams of alcohol (around 2.5 drinks) a day was linked to a lower risk for dementia versus abstinence in adults over age 60.

Underage drinking increases the risk of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem, which can affect the brain long-term. Heavy drinking may weaken parts of the brain that are responsible for cognitive function and emotion regulation. In a study published in 2018, people who regularly had 10 or more drinks per week had one to two years shorter life expectancies than those who had fewer than five drinks. That number increased to four or five years shorter for people who had 18 drinks or more per week. The researchers linked alcohol consumption to various types of cardiovascular problems, including stroke. The brain is made up of cells known as neurons, which are essential for transmitting signals throughout the body and facilitating all brain functions.

Alcohol use disorder (or alcoholism) is also a clear issue for the brain. It has been linked to a higher risk for dementia, especially early-onset dementia in a study of 262,000 adults, as well as to smaller brain size. When people talk about drinking “alcohol,” they’re almost always referring to the consumption of ethanol. Ethanol is a natural product that is formed from the fermentation of grains, fruits, and other sources of sugar. It’s found in a wide range of alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, and spirits like vodka, whiskey, rum, and gin. Although alcohol might not actually “kill” brain cells, research does suggest that high levels of alcohol can interfere with neurogenesis (the formation of new brain cells).