The purpose of this report is to tell the readers how alcohol affects the brain on adults and young teenagers and it will be about the do’s and don’ts about consuming alcohol and why it’s bad for your health, relationship, driving and the physical and mental health. Alcohol has been part of human civilization for thousands of years and while it is linked with the connotation of pleasure and sociability in the minds of many but in saying that it also comes with great consequences when consuming a small amount or a very large amount of alcohol. The structure of this report is trying to tell us that the amount of alcohol consuming will possibly destroy the loved ones in your life and social life to, it will also destroy the capabilities such as driving and relationships. No matter how much the person drinks they will start to lose everything, yes it might look cool but in the end, it’s still going to be loss with or without the people that most love you but by all means this is my only reason people might have different reason behind drinking so that why I choose Alcohol.
Estimates suggest that one out of three people have a close family member who abuses or has and addiction to alcohol. Oftentimes, these family members are also someone’s husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend. The effect of alcoholism and a relationship can be extremely damaging, stressful. Binge drinking is more than a health issue. It has a way of affecting every part of the person’s life especially the relationship’s with friends and most importantly loved ones. When people drink too much can cause a person or people to be moody or defensive, act abusive or aggressive to others and lie to the people that they love most. Eventually, after some while relationships with friends, loved ones, and co-workers become strained and distant. Often most people who binge drink will deny they have a problem and friends and loved ones will don’t know how to help. Alcoholism is not just a problem that affects the individual. Families are also significantly affected. Scientist believe that the effect on the brain by alcohol may contribute to the increase in negative communication in any relationship. This is because alcohol impairs the addict’s ability to understand and correctly interpret what their non-alcoholic spouse is saying. They may interpret things in a very negative way and as a result, they respond to their partner with negative emotions and become verbally abusive. Their life becomes more chaotic and language efforts and other important issues suffer; such as finances, intimacy and then they may even neglect their children. Eventually it becomes easier to avoid discussing these issues than to deal with the stress, anger and negative emotions that are associated with them but in the long run, this will cause more problems for the alcoholic and their relationships.
Millions of people worldwide do it. Many say “what’s the harm, I got home safely and no one was hurt?” just because you made it home safely to your bed doesn’t mean that you are making a right decision. When putting those keys in the ignition and driving away after drinking that person is putting the passenger’s life at a greater risk and you are also risking the lives of those that you come across while driving. Alcohol is a depressant drug, it slows down the activity of the central nervous system, including the brain. The hangover stage of alcohol the next day can make it hard to concentrate and drive safely and might cause you to fall asleep or even crash while driving. A person who has been drinking alcohol may think that they are especially careful, they will be able to drive safely. However, the alcohol may have affected their view and experience of reality. Their actions and responses may be quite different to what is actually needed, but they may be unaware of how much their driving skills have been affected. Driving, when you think about it is really complicated. You need total concentration, good coordination, extremely quick reflexes and be able to make the correct judgments and the right discussions. So when you’re driving it isn’t surprising that drinking will make you forget about your concentration, coordination, your reflexes and being able to correctly to judge the distance. When the driver is drunk while driving they are more likely to find some of these things difficult:
Australia has very strict rules about drink driving with alcohol in your body, with the legal limit set at 0.05 blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Learners and probationary license holders must have a 0.00 blood alcohol concentration. Even if you have a few, you’re driving ability is affected greatly. The more you have to drink, the higher your BAC is the more at risk you are of having a crash and a higher blood alcohol concentration level.
Background
Alcohols scientific name is ethanol. It is formed when the hydroxyl (-OH) group bonds to a carbon atom. Alcohol is produced by fermenting grain, fruit juice, or honey have been for thousands of years. | |
| Figure 1: Chemical formula, structure. http://study.com/cimages/multimages/16/ethanolpicture2a.png |
Estimates suggest that one out of three people have a close family member who abuses or has and addiction to alcohol. Oftentimes, these family members are also someone’s husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend. The effect of alcoholism and a relationship can be extremely damaging, stressful. Binge drinking is more than a health issue. It has a way of affecting every part of the person’s life especially the relationship’s with friends and most importantly loved ones. When people drink too much can cause a person or people to be moody or defensive, act abusive or aggressive to others and lie to the people that they love most. Eventually, after some while relationships with friends, loved ones, and co-workers become strained and distant. Often most people who binge drink will deny they have a problem and friends and loved ones will don’t know how to help. Alcoholism is not just a problem that affects the individual. Families are also significantly affected. Scientist believe that the effect on the brain by alcohol may contribute to the increase in negative communication in any relationship. This is because alcohol impairs the addict’s ability to understand and correctly interpret what their non-alcoholic spouse is saying. They may interpret things in a very negative way and as a result, they respond to their partner with negative emotions and become verbally abusive. Their life becomes more chaotic and language efforts and other important issues suffer; such as finances, intimacy and then they may even neglect their children. Eventually it becomes easier to avoid discussing these issues than to deal with the stress, anger and negative emotions that are associated with them but in the long run, this will cause more problems for the alcoholic and their relationships.
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| Figure 2: The teen drink driving status. http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/teendrinkinganddriving/images/risk1_580px.jpg |
Millions of people worldwide do it. Many say “what’s the harm, I got home safely and no one was hurt?” just because you made it home safely to your bed doesn’t mean that you are making a right decision. When putting those keys in the ignition and driving away after drinking that person is putting the passenger’s life at a greater risk and you are also risking the lives of those that you come across while driving. Alcohol is a depressant drug, it slows down the activity of the central nervous system, including the brain. The hangover stage of alcohol the next day can make it hard to concentrate and drive safely and might cause you to fall asleep or even crash while driving. A person who has been drinking alcohol may think that they are especially careful, they will be able to drive safely. However, the alcohol may have affected their view and experience of reality. Their actions and responses may be quite different to what is actually needed, but they may be unaware of how much their driving skills have been affected. Driving, when you think about it is really complicated. You need total concentration, good coordination, extremely quick reflexes and be able to make the correct judgments and the right discussions. So when you’re driving it isn’t surprising that drinking will make you forget about your concentration, coordination, your reflexes and being able to correctly to judge the distance. When the driver is drunk while driving they are more likely to find some of these things difficult:
- See and hear.
- Judging the speed.
- Noticing the hazards (traffic lights, pedestrians, and etc).
- Keeping balance (motorcycle).
- Staying awake when driving.
- Reacting appropriately to things going on around you.
Australia has very strict rules about drink driving with alcohol in your body, with the legal limit set at 0.05 blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Learners and probationary license holders must have a 0.00 blood alcohol concentration. Even if you have a few, you’re driving ability is affected greatly. The more you have to drink, the higher your BAC is the more at risk you are of having a crash and a higher blood alcohol concentration level.
Discussion
Once swallowed, a drink enters the stomach and small intestine, where small blood vessels carry it to the bloodstream. Approximately 20% of alcohol is absorbed through the stomach and most of the remaining 80% is absorbed through the small intestine. Chemical messengers called neurotransmitters relay information in the brain. Each neurotransmitter binds to a particular receptor to create a response, although variations in the receptors can affect the response. A neuron’s response to information it receives depends on complex interactions of potentially conflicting messages that arrive simultaneously. Alcohol slows the function of the brain in two ways. First, it limits the actions of the neurotransmitter glutamate, which usually excites activity in the brain. Second, it elevates the activity of the inhibiting neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Alcohol’s pleasurable effects and addictiveness are caused when alcohol:
- Increases the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is related to pleasure, in an area of the brain that is associated with all types of addictions.
- Stimulates the activity of opioid peptides, which increases the pleasurable effects of alcohol.
- Activities serotonin receptors. This impacts serotonin’s many functions, including the regulation of mood, sleep, body temperature and appetite and many other things.
- Initiates neuroadaptation – changes caused by the brain attempting to function normally in the presence of alcohol.
The changes of a young and developing brain due to alcohol can result in finding alcohol more rewarding and addicting. When they are adults their brain is more developed but when your younger you are making a wrong choice as a child or teenager between the ages of 13-17. There’s a strong feeling of reward when the consumer does have a drink.
Alcohol can affect your child’s brain which continues to develop until their early twenties. Alcohol can negatively impact on a young person’s problem solving skills and performance at school and sporting activities, as well as possibly effecting your or their body, mood and the mental health. After learning about the effects of alcohol on the brain, suggest that students develop a "No Drinking" campaign at school. For information, they can use this lesson and any others in the series they have worked on. Students can write brochures, develop a public service announcement for the school, or sponsor an assembly on the topic.
Conclusion
Alcohol is associated with young people having some beverages with a couple mate and the things they do will affect you in many ways’. The more friends that drink will encourage you to do stupid things, the more likely young people drink, the greater risk they are at of having a fatal crash or injure those that love you the most. The likelihood of young people drinking and having a bad relationship is high because violence and abuse. Being with a parent suggests an element of supervision and monitoring, which can reduce the likelihood of drinking, frequent drinking, and higher levels of alcohol consumption or drunkenness. Witnessing family members drinking and perceptions of drunkenness among family members in the home can make this kind of drinking appear normal. Unsurprisingly, young people are more likely to behave in certain ways with alcohol if they believe it is acceptable to act that way. The expectation that drinking will be fun and make you happy increases the likelihood of a young person drinking. Negative associations, including a fear that you will not be able to stop drinking or will be sick, decrease the likelihood of drinking.
Public Education Piece
My public education piece is a pamphlet to advise the general public of the information learned during this research assignment.
References
AAAS (advancing science serving society) 2016
http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/alcohol-and-its-impact-on-the-brain/
Mai, C. (2016) the cabin addiction services group
http://www.thecabinchiangmai.com/alcoholics-and-relationships-problems-for-the-spouse/#.VxBw6jB97IU
Drug info (2016) Australian drug foundation
http://www.druginfo.adf.org.au/topics/how-does-alcohol-affect-driving
Wikipedia (2016) Alcohol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol
drink wise Australia (2016)
https://drinkwise.org.au/under-18s/behind-the-wheel-the-dangers-of-drink-driving/#
Bremner, P. Burnett, J. Nunney, F. Ravat, M. Mistral, W. (2016) A study of young people and their relationship with alcohol
https://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/young-people-and-alcohol-summary-report-june-2011.pdf
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