The Many Effects of Alcohol on Your Memory!

There are not many people throughout the world, which can say they enjoy getting up every morning and getting ready for the long day ahead in their working environment. Most of us look forward to weekend; some of us live for weekend as when it comes we look to enjoy ourselves in a variety of ways. For the majority of people, going out partying with friends and family is their way to enjoy themselves. Binge drinking has now become a colossal problem across countless states worldwide.

With binge drinking will come many different problems. There is not a day goes by that a drink related crime is not reported in the news, an assault, a robbery or even a murder. Despite these terrible acts people commit whilst under the influence of drink, a subject that is not widely reported is the effects of alcohol on your body.

Many people do not understand the severity of drinking in large amounts. The consequences in later life can lead to major health problems for you. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with drinking, it is a perfect way to unwind after a hard day, and in some cases a good way of meeting new people and making friends. The Key here is to drink in moderation, and to know what your limits are.

Drinking and Your Memory –

A key function in the human brain is called working memory, this is the method in how we are actively able to hold information to carry out daily tasks. The tasks include reasoning and our ability to learn. A working memory task is a goal orientated achievement which needs a constant active monitoring. Other processes include the control of your short term memory, which controls your brains retrieval of information.

Alcohol has a substantial effect on this process, which will explain why, after a long hard night on the drink you may not remember much once you have past your bodies alcohol limit. You may start to see the effects earlier on in the night, as you start to struggle carrying out simple tasks, that you never normally have problems doing. It has been proved that even a small amount of alcohol will impair your memory; even you may not know it or feel any difference in how you normally are pre-alcohol.

Many people have mentioned experiences of not remembering key information, for example where they are, what day it is , how old they are and in my own experience I have forgot whilst on holiday, the name of the hotel in which I were staying. This led to a not so happy taxi driver, scouting the town until I finally remembered a key landmark in which to find my own way back.

The Long term effects of Alcohol on your Memory –

Perhaps the more sinister effects are the long term consequences on your body. Many of which you will not know about until it is too late. An alcoholic will have a severely impaired working memory function, and will suffer to do everyday tasks even whilst not drinking. It is a proven fact that alcohol for the heavy drinker will damage the connection between key nerve cells in the brain, and may cause an irreversible brain damage. This in turn will lead to the loss of many memories and also things that you have learnt to do throughout your upbringing.

I hope this article has educated you on the severe effects alcohol can have on the human memory, as previously mentioned this is not an anti-drinking article, as everybody enjoys to relax and un-wind in their own preferential way. It is the quantity that you drink that can cause you problems in the short and the long term. To avoid all of this, just remember what your recommended units of alcohol are per day.