Oh, college. Let’s admit it. We all know it comes with its fair share of partying. Most college students will have attended at least one party during their time in school. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, but there are some dangers that come along with college parties. Some of these include sexual assault and violence, but binge drinking can easily cause either of these, and many more consequences.
According to a TIME Health article on the physical effects of drinking on your body over time, binge drinking is defined as, “five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women within two hours.” This drinking pattern sounds fairly typical of how most college-aged students drink in the party setting.
What most don’t think about as they aim to feel “drunk,” is how this alcohol will affect their bodies, both physically and mentally. Alcohol’s effects on our delicate brains can be greatly damaging; so, it is very important to drink responsibility. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), binge drinking regularly can disrupt how our neurotransmitters function. Because neurotransmitters affect our feelings, mood, and the pace of how our body operates, drinking may cause, “mood and behavioral changes, including depression, agitation, memory loss, and even seizures.”
Binge drinking can also affect the heart. There is a very specific speed that our hearts are meant to beat at in order to keep everything in the body running smoothly and alcohol has a direct effect on the pace of our hearts, which makes irregularities, including strokes, much more likely. In fact, since people who only drink in a party setting may drink a lot more at one time, they are 39 percent more likely to suffer any type of stroke, according to the NIH.
While there are additional effects that drinking can have on other parts of our body, including the liver and pancreas, these typically only occur with excessive drinking for prolonged periods of time.
Now, this article isn’t meant to tell you not to drink. A couple of drinks every once in a while is okay. Plus, being responsible about your drinking habits is a lot more likely if you know the risks that it poses to your body. We are still very young, so it’s greatly important to nurture our minds and bodies as much as we possibly can.