The dangers of a hangover are far worse than you think in 2022
According to Forbes magazine, many of us are probably aware that alcohol can quickly numb our brains and cause some damage to our brains and bodies, so we are often warned to "drink with caution". However, what many people may not be aware of is that the effects of alcohol on our brains last longer than we generally think.
In this regard, a new study has recently conducted several experiments that provide a comprehensive analysis of the recovery time of brain damage after a "hangover". Almost without exception, these experiments reveal the fact that even if alcohol cannot be detected in our blood by technical means, our cognitive abilities, such as attention and memory, are still impaired when we are "sober". "Impairment of these abilities can directly contribute to a decline in our concentration and attention, making our memory fail and reaction times longer," said Professor Craig & Middot; Gunn, the psychologist leading the study who also teaches at the School of Psychology at the University of Bath in the UK.
The main reason for this phenomenon is that after drinking too much (as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women are considered to have drunk more than four bottles of alcohol and men more than five), the chemicals that enter our gastrointestinal tract with the alcohol "attack" our bodies and brains, putting our brains on alert.
Alcohol is a very effective diuretic, causing our bodies to lose a large amount of fluid, about four times the volume of alcohol we drink, which can lead to dehydration in drunk people. To compensate for this loss of fluid, our tissues and organs extract as much water as possible, causing the brain to compete hard with its partners for water. Ultimately, this chain reaction causes our brain's dura mater (a biological membrane that encloses the brain and spinal cord) to contract.
As large amounts of body fluids leave our bodies, nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, sodium, and other nutrients that keep our cognitive functions functioning properly are also washed away with them. And these nutrients are not immediately replenished when the alcohol is excreted from the body. Worse still, our crumpled brain dura is not immediately restored to its original state. So even after the ethanol has retreated, it can take a long time for an intoxicated person to return to a normal state.
It takes many hours for the brain to recover from a hangover, in some cases over a day, and our attention, memory, reaction time, and decision-making skills are not at full capacity 'when we're sober. As the results of the study show, it is unrealistic for an intoxicated person to think they can walk a straight line or perform normally.
In addition to these findings, the team at the University of Bath had a few more surprises. One of the most obvious findings is that drunkenness is a "stupid thing to do". Without going into the reasons for this, at the very least it causes damage to our bodies and brains. Another finding is that it is also stupid to think that when we drink alcohol, the only effects we can get from being drunk are headaches and nausea. When we are drunk, we are less able to work, we are less able to concentrate in our interactions, and our brains are not as intelligent as we think they are.
In general, the time when drinking affects our normal life and work does not only happen when we are drinking, it also involves the time when we are back to normal and our brains take much longer than we think to return to a normal state of intelligence.
In this regard, a new study has recently conducted several experiments that provide a comprehensive analysis of the recovery time of brain damage after a "hangover". Almost without exception, these experiments reveal the fact that even if alcohol cannot be detected in our blood by technical means, our cognitive abilities, such as attention and memory, are still impaired when we are "sober". "Impairment of these abilities can directly contribute to a decline in our concentration and attention, making our memory fail and reaction times longer," said Professor Craig & Middot; Gunn, the psychologist leading the study who also teaches at the School of Psychology at the University of Bath in the UK.
The main reason for this phenomenon is that after drinking too much (as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women are considered to have drunk more than four bottles of alcohol and men more than five), the chemicals that enter our gastrointestinal tract with the alcohol "attack" our bodies and brains, putting our brains on alert.
Alcohol is a very effective diuretic, causing our bodies to lose a large amount of fluid, about four times the volume of alcohol we drink, which can lead to dehydration in drunk people. To compensate for this loss of fluid, our tissues and organs extract as much water as possible, causing the brain to compete hard with its partners for water. Ultimately, this chain reaction causes our brain's dura mater (a biological membrane that encloses the brain and spinal cord) to contract.
As large amounts of body fluids leave our bodies, nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, sodium, and other nutrients that keep our cognitive functions functioning properly are also washed away with them. And these nutrients are not immediately replenished when the alcohol is excreted from the body. Worse still, our crumpled brain dura is not immediately restored to its original state. So even after the ethanol has retreated, it can take a long time for an intoxicated person to return to a normal state.
It takes many hours for the brain to recover from a hangover, in some cases over a day, and our attention, memory, reaction time, and decision-making skills are not at full capacity 'when we're sober. As the results of the study show, it is unrealistic for an intoxicated person to think they can walk a straight line or perform normally.
In addition to these findings, the team at the University of Bath had a few more surprises. One of the most obvious findings is that drunkenness is a "stupid thing to do". Without going into the reasons for this, at the very least it causes damage to our bodies and brains. Another finding is that it is also stupid to think that when we drink alcohol, the only effects we can get from being drunk are headaches and nausea. When we are drunk, we are less able to work, we are less able to concentrate in our interactions, and our brains are not as intelligent as we think they are.
In general, the time when drinking affects our normal life and work does not only happen when we are drinking, it also involves the time when we are back to normal and our brains take much longer than we think to return to a normal state of intelligence.