Tag: asthma

Posted on

Alcohol and mental health

1. Alcohol alters your brain chemistry

Our brains rely on a delicate balance of chemicals and processes. Alcohol is a depressant, which means it can disrupt that balance, affecting our thoughts, feelings and actions – and sometimes our long-term mental health. This is partly down to ‘neurotransmitters’, chemicals that help to transmit signals from one nerve (or neuron) in the brain to another.

The relaxed feeling you can get when you have that first drink is due to the chemical changes alcohol has caused in your brain. For many of us, a drink can help us feel more confident and less anxious. That’s because it’s starting to depress the part of the brain we associate with inhibition.

But, as you drink more, more of the brain starts to be affected. It doesn’t matter what mood you’re in to start with, when high levels of alcohol are involved, instead of pleasurable effects increasing, it’s possible that a negative emotional response will take over. You could become angry, aggressive, anxious or depressed.

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/

 

Posted on

Why alcohol affects women differently to men

It may sound a bit sexist, but it’s simple biology.

The government advises that people should not regularly drink more than the lower risk guidelines of 3-4 units of alcohol for men (equivalent to a pint and a half of 4% beer) and 2-3 units of alcohol for women (equivalent to a 13% ABV 175 ml glass of wine).

Women are advised to drink less because, in general, their bodies don’t process alcohol as efficiently as men’s.

Women start to have alcohol-related problems at lower drinking levels than men do. They tend to absorb more alcohol and take longer to break it down and remove it from their bodies. So, when drinking equal amounts, women will have higher alcohol levels in their blood than men, and the immediate effects happen quicker and last longer.

 

There are a few reasons for this

  • On average women weigh less than men.
  • Alcohol disperses in body water, and pound for pound, women have less water in their bodies than men do.
  • So after a man and woman of the same weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman’s blood alcohol concentration will tend to be higher – this puts women at greater risk of harm.
  • As a result, a woman’s brain and other organs tend to be exposed to more alcohol, as well as to more of the potentially harmful by-products which result when the body breaks down and eliminates alcohol.

 

 

http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/