Binge drinking alcohol or binge watching Netflix?
We pick Netflix! Binge drinking is a term used when someone consumes very large amounts of alcohol in a single session. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), binge drinking for women is 4 drinks in 2 hours and binge drinking for men is 5 drinks in 2 hours.
4 dangers of binge drinking
There are a lot more than four dangers of binge drinking. However, we chose some that we thought are the most common.
1. Pregnancy and STDs
An unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases could occur from loss of control and clear thinking. When you’re intoxicated, you don’t have the best judgment or a clear thinking process. You hear stories all the time the next day about how people regret what they did the night before. In movies, you’ll see how unplanned pregnancies are the result after a night of heavy drinking. That’s because it could be true that people don’t think about using protection. Unprotected sex could lead to pregnancies and STDs.
2. Alcohol poisoning
Experiencing alcohol poisoning can be quite painful. It seems like an endless night of vomit and convulsion, then an upset stomach for hours to finish it off. Drinking alcohol in large quantities too fast can result in these symptoms, also known as alcohol poisoning. Other symptoms you might experience include irregular breathing, unconsciousness and very pale skin. Excessive vomiting is especially scary when you’re unconscious. It can lead to death. There have been people who have died from laying on their backs while choking on their vomit, and they don’t wake up because they’re unconscious from all of the alcohol they drank. If you’ve ever seen the show ‘Breaking Bad,’ then you might be familiar with this concept.
3. Brain damage
There are short-term and long-term brain damages associated with binge drinking. Speech impairment, such as slurry words, is an example of short-term damage from drinking. However, the long term effects that you can’t see are even worse. Alcohol can have an insidious impact on brain development over the years. This is especially true for younger crowds in their 20’s, when the brain is changing and alcohol can interfere with those changes significantly.
4. Unintentional injuries
Alcohol changes our behaviors and the ways we think. You aren’t yourself, and this can lead to unintentional injuries. You become more risky and rebellious so much so that you could possibly end up hurting someone in a car crash or domestic violence. The more that you drink, the riskier it is to injure or kill someone else or even yourself.
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