Drinking as A Teenager Has Long-Term Consequences on The Adolescent Brain that Last Longer than A Hangover.
Did you know that drinking alcohol might make you dizzy, uncontrolled, or hungover? Did you realize that drinking while you’re a teenager has long-term consequences for your health and brain development?
effects of alcohol on the brain can depend largely on the type of alcoholic beverage consumed, how much is consumed and how long it has been since the last drink. Blood alcohol content (BAC) may be determined by factors such as height, weight, sex and time after drinking. Short-term effects of alcohol on the brain include impairment of the ability to speak and think and perception and recognition. Alcohol also can cause emotional instability, confusion and loss of inhibitions
While it’s easy to recognize your body changing throughout adolescence, your teenage brain development is going through a similar transformation. During your teens and twenties, your brain develops and adapts as the connections between all the neurons grow more intricate and effective.
According to research, alcohol consumption while the teenage brain is growing might stymie or reverse it. The effects of alcohol may put you at risk for brain damage that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life.
The Adolescent Brain Function and Difficulties in learning new information
Alcohol’s effect on the teenage brain due to underage drinking is primarily seen in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a seahorse-shaped structure located deep within your brain that is responsible for learning and memory.
Alcohol can harm or even destroy the hippocampal cells that form memories in young adults, which is why some people experience fuzzy recollections or ‘blackouts’ after drinking. Because an adolescent brain is still developing compared to the adult brain, this damage may be particularly toxic. Adolescents who drink heavily and frequently have a smaller hippocampus than their peers, according to research on the effects of excessive alcohol consumption and adolescent alcohol exposure.
Your hippocampus is essential for normal brain activity throughout and following adolescence. How effectively your hippocampus works will influence how well you can learn and retain short-term memories, which might play a role in how well you do at school, work, hobbies, and other activities requiring new abilities like driving a vehicle.
While you were sleeping, your adolescent brain was undergoing significant changes. But you may not be aware of the effects of this damage on your hippocampus throughout puberty because it began to deteriorate due to the effects of alcohol before then. It can reduce your chances of learning new things permanently.
Poor judgment and decision making because of alcohol consumption
We frequently hear that teenagers are quick to react, make incorrect judgments, and act in an irrational manner. This is because their pre-frontal cortex, which handles things like logic thinking, planning, personality, impulse control, and language development, is still growing in the adolescent brain.
The consumption of alcohol has an adverse impact on the pre-frontal cortex, which is responsible for impulse control and higher cognitive functions such as empathy in the teenage brain. Because alcohol consumption affects the pre-frontal cortex, individuals who have been drinking may become emotional, confident, or nonresistant. When a young adolescent brain comes into contact with alcohol, damage to your pre-frontal cortex may have an impact on how well you make judgments as you get older, according to clinical and experimental research on developing brain cells.
So, what should we do about drinking alcohol among teens?
It’s critical for teenagers to understand what alcohol may do to the teenage brain and bodies in the near and distant future. Learn how to deal with peer pressure as young adults, as well as if you’re going to consume, make sure you know exactly what alcohol is, what’s in your beverages, and how much a normal drink of alcohol consists of.
For parents and guardians, discover how to positively impact their child’s conduct, how to have a conversation with them about alcohol, and how to assist them to have a good time.
Despite the fact that research regarding how alcohol affects the adolescent brain is still in progress, many studies have been conducted. Results so far have shown that drinking alcohol has the potential to cause long-term damage on the human brain — yes both the adult brain and the developing brain cells of young adults.
What every parent should know about adolescents and alcohol
Alcohol has been linked to a slew of negative side effects in young people, including memory loss and spatial reasoning problems. Adolescent brain development is more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than adults, according to clinical and experimental research at McLean Hospital.
Furthermore, studies show that the earlier a person begins drinking, the more likely he or she is to develop significant alcohol use or drug addiction problems later in life if the heavy drinking persists.
Because of the serious long- and short-term effects of alcohol abuse and misuse, it is critical that teenagers, parents, teachers, and health professionals have a deeper understanding of adolescent drinking and brain development, as well as work together to dispel popular misconceptions about teens and alcohol.
Why Is Teenage Drinking Dangerous?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), alcohol is the most frequently misused and abused drug among young people in the United States. Excessive underage drinking is tied to approximately 4,300 deaths each year, according to the CDC.
When high school students were asked about their activities during the previous 30 days in 2015, 33% said they had consumed some amount of alcohol, 18% reported binge drinking, and 8% said they had driven after drinking. According to the CDC’s 2015 “Youth Risk Behavior Study.”
Furthermore, binge drinking accounts for more than 90% of the alcohol consumed by teenagers.
Binge drinking, according to the CDC, is “a pattern of drinking that results in a person’s blood alcohol concentration reaching 0.08 percent or above.” Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks in approximately two hours for someone who is biologically male, or four or more drinks for someone who is biologically female.
The negative effects of binge drinking include more probable drunk driving, violent behavior, being a victim of sexual assault, viral infections, and alcohol dependency in the long term.
Adding to the worries are studies indicating that alcohol has a detrimental influence on learning and memory in teenagers.
Adults who binge drink have issues as well. Adolescents, on the other hand, are more susceptible to alcohol’s detrimental effects than adults are. This is due to the fact that the brain is growing toward maturity, with improved decision-making abilities and connections between the memory center and other areas of the brain, which last throughout a person’s early twenties—the very age range when alcohol use and abuse begin.
Teens’ brains are still developing, making them more prone to dangerous behaviors and poor decision-making, such as drinking alcohol to excess.
According to studies, allowing adolescents to drink under adult supervision does not reduce their risk of alcohol abuse and learning how to handle booze if they do so.
For example, underage drinking in Europe, where wine and other alcoholic beverages are permitted at younger ages than in the United States and are considered more entrenched in the culture, is just as hazardous as it is in the United States. In fact, rates of adolescent binge drinking and alcohol abuse issues are higher than they are in the United States.
Furthermore, according to a study, the younger a person starts drinking, the more likely they are to develop an alcohol issue later in life. According to data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, “adults aged 21 or older who had their first drink at age 14 or younger were more prone to be classified as alcohol dependent or in misuse than those who obtained their first drink at the later age of 21.”
Unless someone has sustained lifelong abstinence from alcohol consumption, the chance of developing an alcohol addiction disorder is never zero. And the dangers are much greater when a family history of alcohol abuse exists.
Overall, it’s critical to better understand the influence of adolescent drinking since the majority of Americans will have a connection with alcohol at some point in their lives: A third of the population does not drink or has low levels of use, the third drink socially and in moderate amounts, and a third are heavy, dangerously risky drinkers.
Although the consequences of adolescent alcohol use are well-known, parents, educators, and others who deal with teenagers understand that a “just say ‘no’ to alcohol” strategy is insufficient to deter drinking.
As a result, it is critical to educate teens and their parents about the effects of drug use on the adolescent brain and the advantages of delaying alcohol consumption until they reach adulthood.
Understanding the psychology of teenage drinking and brain development is assisting teenagers and parents in making better decisions about drinking, as well as providing adults with better methods to prevent risky behaviors.
What can start as a coping mechanism, stress reliever, or social lubricant for adolescents can turn into a dangerous habit
It can be difficult to grow up. Adolescents are frequently curious, concerned, emotional, and searching for methods to amuse themselves. The way the brain grows throughout adolescence makes adolescents more prone to try drugs.
They may also be prone to escape through drugs and/or alcohol at times. While substance usage might appear to be the answer at the moment, it has the potential to lead to long-term problems including addiction.
Addiction is not a sign of moral turpitude or failure of character. While no single factor causes addiction, there is hope—it may be treated effectively.
How Can You Tell If Your Teen Is Addicted to Drugs or Alcohol?
Adolescents who have substance use problems have a dependence on drugs/alcohol, bodily, emotional, or both.
When someone has been using a substance for an extended period of time, their body has become dependent on it to function properly. When you stop taking drugs, your body’s endocrine system will react as if you were withdrawing from alcohol or some other drug.
The reward system in the brain is altered by constant usage, such that other things that were formerly pleasurable, such as eating a tasty meal or spending time with friends, no longer have the same impact. When a youngster tries to quit smoking, their mood takes a hit even more significantly.
They must drink or take drugs in order to keep their “default” selves. To get back to feeling like their regular selves, they may use even more chemicals.
It’s almost impossible to quit once you’ve become hooked on this vicious circle. Their body has gotten used to operating while under the influence of a drug or alcohol.
Someone who is psychologically dependent on a drug believes that they would not function properly without it. They could believe they require a drink in specific situations, such as at a party or to unwind after school or work.
They might also come to believe that they require the substance on a continual basis and feel they will not be able to live without it.
When someone is addicted to drugs, he or she will experience withdrawal symptoms when they are not fed. Withdrawal has a variety of indicators, but not all people with addiction problems suffer the same issues.
Withdrawal symptoms can be mild or severe, depending on:
- How long have they been using it?
- What drugs are they abusing?
- Age
- Physical health
- Psychological characteristics
- Method of withdrawal
The following are some signs that your child may require assistance:
- Family and friends were kept at a distance.
- Talking about drinking or drug use, or asking questions regarding their misuse, is a no-no.
- Depression and despondency are other common symptoms.
- Irritability and/or aggressiveness
- Negligence and poor judgment in decision-making
- Sleeping and feeding habits may suddenly change, e.g., as a result of illness or an emergency.
- Low academic performance
- Thoughts of self-harm
- Even if no one is ill, you’ll find empty prescription bottles.
If your youngster is exhibiting any of these symptoms and signals, he or she might have a substance use problem.
What should you do if you believe your teenager is using or drinking alcohol or drugs?
- Take a non-confrontational and objective stance.
- Inquire and be interested in your adolescent.
- Talk about the legal and medical ramifications of substance abuse.
- Instead of focusing on the individual, concentrate on the action.
- Check-in on occasion and continue any ongoing discussions (have supper together, while traveling in the vehicle).
- Keep track of your child’s social interactions (know who they’re with and where they are)
- If you feel the topic is too difficult, reach out to a school counselor or mental health professional.
How It’s Diagnosed and Treated
Doctors conduct interviews with their patients to diagnose a substance use disorder. They inquire about the specifics of the patient’s substance abuse—what is being used, how much, and how often—as well as how his or her addiction is affecting daily life. Is it having an impact on your job, relationships, or physical health?
Next, they may look at other variables, such as personal and family histories. Finally, it’s critical to understand if the individual has any additional mental health issues.
It is certainly feasible to obtain appropriate and safe therapy. Treatment can help reduce the likelihood of relapse in the future and can also minimize the severity of substance use disorders. It may be useful at any time during the process of diagnosing a substance use problem, and it might be tailored to an individual’s requirements.
The goal of treatment is to help people live as healthy and productive lives as possible. Different treatments may be required for various conditions. Some illnesses need medication, but psychological therapies are frequently used in combination with drugs.
A combination of medicines, family therapy, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), exposure and response prevention treatment, and group psychotherapy approaches may be used to treat co-occurring issues.
