What’s the harm in heavy or binge drinking?
For women, it’s three or fewer drinks a day and no more than seven drinks per week.
Still, you may be thinking, “No one drinks that small amount of alcohol.
Anyone who drinks alcohol drinks more than that.”
Heavy drinking is defined as having five or more episodes of binge drinking in the past month.
Health Problems
Scientific research has linked heavy drinking to a wide range of effects on your health.
Almost every system in your body can be negatively affected by alcohol.
For example, binge drinkers have been found to have problems with verbal learning skills.
If you quit binge drinking, chances are those skills will begin to improve immediately.
Mood and Cognitive Performance
Research has found that binge drinkers report less-positive moods than non-binge drinkers.
Binge drinking is associated with negative and depressive moods.
The most severe effect of prenatal alcohol exposure is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).
It is not known ifanyamount of alcohol is safe to drink while you are pregnant.
Could You Have a Problem?
At this point, you may have even experienced some of the negative effects outlined above.
Your first step may be to venture to cut down or quit on your own.
If you’re having trouble, or experiencing symptoms of withdrawal, don’t wait to get help.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.Alcohol Facts and Statistics.
National Institutes of Health.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.Rethinking Drinking: Alcohol and Your Health.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Binge drinking.
2018;7(13).
2012;21(11):1318-35. doi:10.1002/hec.1788
