We’re a drinking nation. Let’s be honest. A braai wouldn’t be the same without that cold lager in hand. Our winelands are world-class. And then of course there’s that other national staple: brandy and coke. The dedication with which we knock ’em back can be impressive to say the least, but what is it doing to our brain chemistry?
Sure we’re aware of the short-term effects of alcohol on our brains. Bouts of memory loss. A total loss of all inhibition. Slurred speech. And perhaps sometimes we’re kind of grateful we don’t remember the gyrating performance we gave while screeching the words to Shakira’s latest hit. But the truth is excessive drinking can have a longer-wearing impact on our brain and moods.
When does it become a problem?
The best way to determine how much you are consuming in a week is to work in ‘units’ of alcohol. A single unit is 10ml of pure alcohol. This is the amount you will find roughly in a single 25ml shot of standard spirits, a half pint of beer or a 100ml glass of wine. If a man and woman of the same weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman will have more alcohol in her organs. Because of this the safe level for women is lower than it is for men. For women it is 14 units per week, while for men 21 units per week. Anything beyond this and you could be doing serious damage.
How does alcohol affect your mental health?
In times of stress or anxiety, we’re often quick to grab that bottle off the top shelf. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why. A neuroscientist maybe. Alcohol increases the dopamine levels in your brain’s ‘reward centre’ offering us a quick fix solution to our woes. By increasing the dopamine levels in the brain, alcohol tricks us into thinking we feel much better. The downside is, while you drink more to keep the good times coming, alcohol is similarly altering other brain chemicals that enhance feelings of depression. Over time, with steady drinking, the dopamine boost diminishes. Instead all you’re left with is the feeling the next day, waking up ill, anxious and jittery with the compulsive need to return to the very thing that’s doing you more harm than good. Beyond this, the long-term effects of alcohol have been linked to psychosis and dementia. Still need a reason to give that top-up a skip?
The brain and the liver aren’t mutually exclusive.
Not only does alcoholic liver disease affect your liver function, but it can do damage to the brain as well. As the liver serves to clear the blood of an excess of toxic substances that might harm the body, the brain is equally affected when this vital function is disturbed. Instead, an excess of toxins, in particular manganese and ammonia, make their way to the brain and can potentially cause a serious, and even fatal, brain disorder known as hepatic encephalopathy. Someone with this disorder can suffer from sleep disturbances, shortened attention span, coordination problems, mood and personality changes, and at worst, a coma or death. In best case scenarios, doctors can help to treat this disorder with compounds that lower ammonia levels in the blood or devices that remove harmful toxins from your system. In more severe cases, a liver transplant may be needed for the brain to recover.
Drinking can be so very implicit in our social engagements, from that champagne toast at a wedding to that after-work cosmo with the gals. And it doesn’t have to be harmful as long as we keep in mind that drinking away our problems won’t help. It’ll only make things worse. So put your health first this winter. Your brain is just another part of your body that needs you.
Date Published: 22 June 2016
