The Effects Of Alcohol On The Nervous System

Someone is sitting at a restaurant bar. A waitress walks over handing out free shots, so he takes one. One leads to two, two leads to three, and so on. Before he realizes it, he is talking louder than ever, tripping over his own feet, and causing a scene. Toward the end of the night, he walks into someone’s table, as he is heading out of the restaurant, knocking over their meals. He tries to say something, but all that comes out is mumbling. The next morning, he is feeling dizzy, has a pounding headache, and does not remember anything from the night before.

That scenario shows only a few of the side effects alcohol can cause to a person. Alcohol causes a disruption toward the connection of the brain. The brain controls the physical and psychological processes. Many people do not realize the possible results that alcohol can cause.

Alcohol consumption affects the nervous system in many different ways. For example, alcohol affects the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, autonomic nervous system, motor nerves, and sensory nerves. After drinking alcohol, it enters the bloodstream within about 10 minutes. The brain is the first part of the body affected by alcohol. The brain will begin by dulling certain parts. Alcohol first impairs judgement. Alcohol not only affects many different functions of the human body, including reduced inhibitions, slurred speech, impairment of motor functions, confusion, memory loss, problems concentrating, problems breathing, but it can lead to a coma, death, accidents, bad behavior, or suicide. For some people, alcohol may also affect their mood and make them feel down or aggressive.

The nervous system is the network of nerve cells and fibers that transmit nerve impulses between parts of...

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...inking too much can take a toll on one’s health. For example, alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways, which affects the way that the brain thinks, looks, works, and decides. These problems can lead to a change in mood, a change in behavior, and make it difficult to understand clearly and move. On the other hand, the heart can receive problems far more risky. These problems include cardiomyopathy, which is the stretching of the heart muscle, arrhythmias, which is an irregular heart beat, a stroke, and high blood pressure. The liver is also another big part of the nervous system. Problems from alcohol consumption cause the liver to produce problems such as steatosis, which is when fat deposits develop in the liver, alcoholic hepatitis, fibrosis, which is the thickening and scarring of connective tissue, and cirrhosis, which can lead to liver failure.