Author: Mat Apodaca / Source: Lifehack
Drinking alcohol is a big part of the social fabric in the United States. Just last night, my wife and I had friends over to our house for a drink before dinner. We were going to try a new restaurant that had gotten some great buzz. And the hype was well deserved, the food, atmosphere, and service were amazing.
As part of the social activity of the evening, we had a drink before the dinner and another one at the restaurant.Part of a very common social scene. But when drinking has become an addiction or is affecting your health, it’s definitely a good idea to quit drinking.
Here we will look at how to the consequences of drinking to much and how to quit drinking for a healthier body and mind.
How much alcohol is too much?
This is a great question to ask in our discussion of how to quit drinking for a healthy body and mind. Let’s look at several definitions of how much drinking is too much and when it can become a problem.
A recent study that was published in 2018 says it has found the magic number. After analyzing data of 600,000 people who drank between zero and 350 grams of alcohol per week they came to the conclusion that 100 grams per week was the magic number.
People who drink more than 100 grams of alcohol per week, the equivalent to 6 glasses of wine, had increased risk of stroke, heart disease, heart failure, fatal hypertensive disease, and fatal aortic aneurysm.
There is also research that has been done that suggests a different number. In other studies excessive drinking is defined as either drinking too much in one sitting or over the course of a week.
For men the number is 5 or more drinks in one sitting or 15 drinks over the course of a week. For women that number is 4 drinks at one sitting or 8 over the course of one week.
According to this definition 29% of the population can be defined as “excessive drinkers” but 90% of those do not fit the definition of alcoholism. So even though someone is characterized as an “excessive drinker” by these studies, they don’t meet the definition of an alcoholic. Interesting.
I used to be neighbors with a guy that drank 12-18 beers a day and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day and was never sick. I know another person who felt she was an alcoholic, quit drinking, and joined AA 15 years ago even though she never drank more than 2 glasses of wine at a time. I think it depends on the person.
If drinking is adversely affecting your life in some way, you are most likely drinking too much. It could be that you are too tired and hungover to do the things you like. Maybe you call in “sick” to work more often than you should. You speed through time with your kids in order to get to the beer quicker than you should.
Whatever it might be. If drinking is adversely affecting your life in some way, you might want to take a look at how much you drink.
Now on to exciting ways of how to quit drinking for a healthier mind and body!
What alcohol does to your body and mind
It’s pretty intuitive that alcohol probably isn’t the best thing for us. We’ve all read or heard about how alcohol in moderation can be good for us. There’s probably some truth to this but it’s best to seriously look at the research before putting too much stock in it. Many of these studies suggest that drinking in moderation equals 1 drink a day for women and 2 per day for men.
When you drink alcohol, what does it do to your mind and body?
When you first drink alcohol, it triggers the release of endorphins which are chemicals that produce feelings of pleasure. This is a good thin, right? Maybe, but alcohol also does other things to you.
Here are some things that drinking alcohol does to your mind and body:
Your body on alcohol
There are many ways in which alcohol affects your body in the short term. Let’s start with the always fun hangover.
A hangover is caused by several factors including dehydration, the fact that alcohol upsets your stomach lining and opens up blood vessels which leads to a greater chance of a headache, and the fact you don’t sleep very well after a night of drinking.
Other short term effects of alcohol on your body include dulled senses, lack of coordination, slurred speech, blurry vision, poor balance, dizziness, nausea, and bad sleep to name a few.
Let’s not forget that the lowered inhibitions can lead to making dumb decisions such as smoking which is bad for your body as well as doing really dumb stuff like driving when you shouldn’t. This puts not only yourself at physical risk but others as well.
Long term effects of alcohol on your body include stomach ulcers, immune system deficiencies, nerve damage, liver disease, pancreatitis, damage to the heart muscle, cancer, vitamin deficiencies and other cardio vascular issues.
Your mind on alcohol
When you first drink alcohol, you may feel more social and talkative. This is the classic “loosen up with a few drinks” feeling. And it’s true that many people become more vocal and outgoing while drinking alcohol.
It’s good to remember though that alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. The depressive effects…
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