Study: Heavy Drinkers Still Affected by Alcohol
It's a common belief that the more you get used to drinking alcohol,
the less you'll be affected by it.
But is this actually true?
Researchers from the University of Chicago examined the effects of alcohol on about 400 young people between the ages of 21 and 35. These included light drinkers, heavy drinkers and people with alcohol use disorder — men who had 28 or more drinks per week, and women who had 21 or more drinks, with at least 11 heavy drinking events per month.
Light drinkers were defined as those who had six or fewer drinks per week, and heavy drinkers had at least 10 drinks per week, with up to five heavy drinking events per week.
Participants were asked not to drink for at least 48 hours before the experiment.
Their coordination and short-term memory were tested when they arrived, and they were then given a drink that had about as much alcohol as four to five regular drinks, adjusted to match each participant's body weight.
They were tested four more times over a three-hour period.
It was found that after 30 minutes, all groups were much slower than usual at completing the coordination test, which involved removing pegs from holes and putting them back. But after that, the heavy drinkers and participants with alcohol use disorder quickly began to recover, while the light drinkers were even slower an hour after drinking, and were still slower than usual after three hours.
All participants also got much lower scores on the memory test after drinking, again with the worst results after 30 minutes. They all recovered at about the same rate, but the heavy drinkers and people with alcohol use disorder were always slightly less impaired than the light drinkers.
So it seems getting used to alcohol does reduce its physical and mental effects, and allow faster recovery — but it doesn't make you invincible.
Or as study co-author Nathan Didier told CNN: "Even if you have a lot of experience drinking, that doesn't mean that you're not impaired."
Further Discussion
1.
What are the most popular alcoholic drinks where you live?
2.
Are there any alcoholic drinks that you try to avoid?
3.
What's the minimum drinking age in your country? Do you think it's appropriate?
4.
Do you know anything about your country's safe drinking guidelines?
5.
Do you know anyone who never drinks alcohol?
첫댓글 Thank you for your support, Lara!
It’s a pretty enjoyable article. Talk more tomorrow ^^