The effects of alcohol on the body can be very dangerous. Therefore, you should think about how much you drink, and the potential damage it is causing to your body.
Alcohol is a powerful chemical! Thirty seconds after your first sip, alcohol races into your brain. It can have an effect on your physical and mental health, in the short and long-term. The effects of alcohol on the body depends on how much you drink. Along with frequency and the quality of what you drink.
1. Our Heart
High alcohol consumption is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease. This is because heavy drinking can increase blood pressure levels. Furthermore, it is one of the most important risk factors for having a heart attack or a stroke, one of the most dangerous effects of alcohol on the body. Over time, heavy drinking can also weaken the heart muscle. This means the heart can’t pump blood as efficiently and can result in death through heart failure.
2. Our Brain
Excessive drinking can cause temporary complications such as memory loss and coordination. Prolonged consumption of alcohol can interfere with how the brain functions. Especially, if different regions of the brain are damaged, as it can significantly impact the body’s communication pathways.
3. Our Liver
When you drink too much alcohol, you are putting your liver at risk of life-threatening problems. If you have too much alcohol in a short period of time, you can overwhelm the metabolism process and lead to fatty liver. Fatty liver is a chronic condition that involves the build-up of bad fats in the liver. Other serious liver complications are alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis.
4. Our Mental Health
Alcohol is a depressant. Therefore, it can disrupt the balance that affects our thoughts, feelings, actions and sometimes mental health. Drinking heavily interferes with your brain’s ability to stay balanced and run normally. The more you drink the worse you brain is affected. It can cause anxiety, stress, depression, and make you feel low. The negative effects of alcohol can truly have an impact on your mental health.
5. Our Sleep
Regular drinking can disrupt the quality of our sleep and our sleep cycle. Therefore, this leaves us feeling tired and sluggish. When you drink, you tend to fall into deep sleep quicker. However, as the night progresses you will spend more time in deep sleep than the usual restful kind. Alcohol can also disrupt your sleep as you may need to go to toilet more frequently in the night. No matter how long you stay in bed, you will feel tired the next day. Have some alcohol-free days in your work, for better sleep and more energy.
