When we are consuming alcohol, our judgment is affected. However, for some individuals, the change in decision-making due to alcohol can go unnoticed, leading to worse consequences.
Effects of Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol consumption can lead to dangerous behaviors. A higher amount of consumption increases the likelihood of these behaviors occurring; however, they can present themselves with any amount of consumption.
- Impulsive decision-making
- Lack of moral judgment
- Exaggerated emotions
- Risk-taking behavior
- Aggression
- Prosocial behavior
- Altered levels of motivation
By reviewing the behaviors that arise from alcohol consumption, you can see that this substance does have a large effect on the decision-making ability of people who drink.
Anatomical Effects
The consumption of alcohol has a drastic effect on overall brain functioning and can lead to a variety of anatomical concerns.
Frontal Lobe
Consuming alcohol impairs brain functioning and impacts the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe is where the majority of our decision-making is processed. While long-term alcohol consumption can deteriorate the frontal lobe, causing permanent damage, small amounts of consumption still alter the frontal lobe’s ability to function properly, causing a lack of self-control.
Cerebellum
The cerebellum impacts our levels of coordination. Alcohol can alter our mind’s perception of coordination and lead us to believe we are more capable of certain movements than we are. One of the major effects that alcohol has on the cerebellum involves the ability to drive safely and appropriately. Being extremely mindful of your alcohol consumption and ensuring you wait a minimum of an hour after each drink before driving is essential to ensure you are making safe decisions.
Hippocampus
The hippocampus is the part of our brain that helps with the process of learning and retaining information. People who consume alcohol impair their ability to remember things. Alcohol consumption can make it hard to retain information and can lead to memory loss
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus is what helps our body maintain homeostasis. By signaling when we are hungry, thirsty, tired, too hot or too cold, or any other measure of body regulation, the hypothalamus works to help us take care of our most basic needs. Unfortunately, alcohol also harms the hypothalamus. The consumption of alcohol can make people have a hard time recognizing its signals appropriately or feel an increased desire to compensate for physical needs.
Medulla
The medulla works to maintain our body’s involuntary functions. It can help regulate body temperature and the heartbeat. The effects of alcohol on the medulla can be extremely dangerous if excessive. By altering the body’s ability to regulate temperature and maintain its heartbeat, alcohol can lead to very concerning health outcomes.
Altered Judgement
Understanding the effects of alcohol consumption on your judgment and decision-making can be extremely challenging when you are under the influence. While most individuals feel that their judgment is not altered after one or two drinks (or more with a higher tolerance), any amount of alcohol can alter judgment, and this change too often goes unnoticed until irreversible harm has been done. Drinking excessively alters your judgment to a more drastic level than drinking moderately; however, even a few sips of alcohol can negatively impact your decision-making ability.
A study done by San Diego State University observed individuals completing simple tasks after varying levels of alcohol consumption. It found that decision-making is affected before motor skills are impaired, which makes the effects on decision-making even harder to notice. Through observing reaction time with different levels of alcohol consumption, the research team found that even one serving of alcohol leads to a decrease in reaction time.
The results of this study are extremely important to consider when consuming alcohol. Only a small amount of consumption can cause alterations in decision-making, and increased levels of consumption only add to these alterations. These impairments can put people in very dangerous situations.
Spreading Awareness
Due to the lack of knowledge on the effects of minimal consumption, many individuals will believe their judgment is not altered after a few drinks. Spreading awareness on this matter and informing those you are drinking with of the potential risks can help keep everyone around you safe. Additionally, when you practice safe drinking habits, you can help lead individuals away from addiction and lower the chances of poor decision-making leading to people getting themselves or their peers into an unsafe situation.
To practice safe drinking, ensure you always have a designated driver or a sober friend with you who can watch your behavior. This individual can help you make decisions without the impairment of alcohol and can help to ensure you and your peers are engaging in safe behavior. If nobody in your social circle wants to be the responsible sober individual, try switching off people for each occasion and coordinating nights that each wishes to drink.
The consumption of alcohol has a drastic effect on our brain’s ability to function. Looking at different parts of the brain and their functions, you can see how many processes of brain functioning are altered by alcohol consumption. One serving of any alcoholic beverage is enough to impair judgment and decision-making. When only consuming a small amount of alcohol, you may find these alterations hard to recognize and easy to overlook, potentially leading to dangerous behaviors. Ensuring you are in a safe environment when consuming alcohol and being mindful of the amount you are consuming can help you refrain from making poor and potentially life-threatening decisions. Prolonged use and excessive consumption can lead to permanent damage to your anatomical processing. To learn more about how alcohol affects your judgment and decision-making, reach out to Dream Recovery at (949) 732-1960.