Alcohol consumption shrinks the brain

Reducing alcohol consumption is one of the most effective ways to promote cognitive and neurological health, both in the short and long term, and research also shows that the effects of alcohol vary by age.

In a new report Alcohol and the Brain, researchers from the University of Victoria in Canada, Berkley in the United States, the Karolinska Institute and Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital, among others, have compiled and analyzed some 150 scientific studies on the subject. The report emphasizes that alcohol affects the brain throughout life

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is already known to be harmful, and the researchers now confirm that the studies show this.

– We have not been able to find a safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy Even sperm function can be affected, so the man should also take a break when the couple is trying to have children, Sven Andréasson, professor emeritus at the Karolinska Institute, told Bonnier owned newspaper DN.

In addition, alcohol consumption can influence the decisions of young adults, according to the compilation The brain is particularly sensitive until it is fully developed, which does not happen until the age of 23 to 24, and can therefore be negatively affected by alcohol. Andréasson also says that “binge drinking in adolescence” is a risk factor for dementia later in life.

Increased risk of mental health problems

In adults up to the age of 65, research shows that there is a strong link between alcohol and mental health problems It is the ethanol in alcohol that poisons brain cells by bypassing the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain It can also impair memory and intellectual capacity and accelerate brain aging For example, a 50-year-old who increases his drinking from 1 unit/day to 2 units/day may, after a few years, have a brain that is two years older than it would otherwise be.

As you get older, the brain becomes even more sensitive to alcohol because it can also raise blood pressure and cause strokes. The consequences of long-term alcohol use become more apparent with age, and the brain shrinks as more alcohol is consumed over a lifetime.

Reducing or stopping binge drinking may be one of the best things you can do to improve your cognitive health.

– Drinking less or not drinking at all may be the most effective way to improve cognitive, neurological and psychological health at any age, says Andréasson.

This is the tenth report produced by an international group of alcohol researchers, at the initiative of several international NGOs and academic institutions, with the aim of raising public awareness of the consequences of alcohol and informing policy-makers about measures that can help reduce alcohol-related harm.