Short-term effects of alcohol consumption

Symptoms of varying BAC levels. Additional symptoms may occur.

The short-term effects of alcohol consumption range from a decrease in anxiety and motor skills and euphoria at lower doses to intoxication (drunkenness), to stupor, unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia (memory "blackouts"), and central nervous system depression at higher doses. Cell membranes are highly permeable to alcohol, so once it is in the bloodstream, it can diffuse into nearly every cell in the body.

The concentration of alcohol in blood is measured via blood alcohol content (BAC). The amount and circumstances of consumption play a large role in determining the extent of intoxication; for example, eating a heavy meal before alcohol consumption causes alcohol to absorb more slowly.[1] The amount of alcohol consumed largely determines the extent of hangovers, although hydration also plays a role. After excessive drinking, stupor and unconsciousness can both occur. Extreme levels of consumption can cause alcohol poisoning and death; a concentration in the blood stream of 0.36% will kill half of those affected.[2][3][4] Alcohol may also cause death indirectly by asphyxiation, caused from vomiting.

Alcohol can greatly exacerbate sleep problems. During abstinence, residual disruptions in sleep regularity and sleep patterns[clarification needed] are the greatest predictors of relapse.[5]

  1. ^ Horowitz M, Maddox A, Bochner M, Wishart J, Bratasiuk R, Collins P, Shearman D (August 1989). "Relationships between gastric emptying of solid and caloric liquid meals and alcohol absorption". The American Journal of Physiology. 257 (2 Pt 1): G291–G298. doi:10.1152/ajpgi.1989.257.2.G291. PMID 2764113.
  2. ^ Jones AW, Holmgren P (July 2003). "Comparison of blood-ethanol concentration in deaths attributed to acute alcohol poisoning and chronic alcoholism". Journal of Forensic Sciences. 48 (4): 874–9. doi:10.1520/JFS2002420. PMID 12877310.
  3. ^ Bigsby C, Ratcliff E, Rexrode L (24 April 1996). "Page 4: Blood Alcohol Levels And Metabolism". Alcohol Awareness Page. Radford University. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)". Carleton College: Wellness Center. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009.
  5. ^ Feige B, Scaal S, Hornyak M, Gann H, Riemann D (January 2007). "Sleep electroencephalographic spectral power after withdrawal from alcohol in alcohol-dependent patients". Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 31 (1): 19–27. doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2006.00260.x. PMID 17207097.