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Alcohol Awareness Month: No, drinking doesn’t help perform complex tasks

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Alcohol Awareness Month: No, drinking doesn’t help perform complex tasks

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“Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the Bible says love your enemy.” The quote by late American singer-actor Frank Sinatra explains the attitude alcohol lovers harbor about their drinks. Heavy social drinkers have the notion that they have a higher tolerance level to the effects of alcohol and can complete their tasks without their coordination level being affected.

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"Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the Bible says love your enemy." The quote by late American singer-actor Frank Sinatra explains the attitude alcohol lovers harbor about their drinks. Heavy social drinkers have the notion that they have a higher tolerance level to the effects of alcohol and can complete their tasks without their coordination level being affected.

Alcohol is the most common substance, so it is imperative to educate the youth about the hazardous effects of drinking. To reach out to various American communities and inform them about alcohol, alcoholism and recovery, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) observes Alcohol Awareness Month in April every year.

Heavy drinkers function differently from light drinkers

A recent study, titled "Alcohol-induced performance impairment: a 5-year re-examination study in heavy and light drinkers," suggested how heavy drinkers abusing alcohol for a long time manifested no better performance than light drinkers when given complicated tasks to perform. The authors of the study, published online in the journal Psychopharmacology in March 2017, reported that though heavy drinkers manifested lower level of damage compared to light drinkers on a rote fine motor test over time, they failed to perform better on a test involving additional short-term, motor speed and acutely complicated tasks involving use of cognitive abilities.

The researchers evaluated details from the first six years of the Chicago Social Drinking Project to examine if 86 acute heavy drinkers and 69 light drinkers showed behavioral tolerance or alterations in perceived impairment during the two testing stages when they were young adults. The tasks allowed were the Grooved Pegboard and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) during initial testing. Recurring tests were held after five years.

Prior to each task, the respondents were allowed a dose of alcohol based on their body weight so that they may have a specific breath alcohol concentration. The participants were then tested at 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes after taking drinks. The researchers found that the participants failed to perform on both the tests under the effect of alcohol. Initial testing had demonstrated equal levels of impairment during both the tasks. Though both the groups of respondents performed better compared with their initial performance, the researchers attributed the same to constant practice.

Chemical tolerance to alcohol

In addition, the heavy drinkers also showed traces of chemical tolerance to alcohol, thus suggesting that heavy drinkers absorb and metabolize alcohol swifter compared to light drinkers. Elucidating the results, lead author of the study Ty Brumback said, "The most important thing about the study is that despite heavy drinkers' extensive experience with alcohol, increased speed of metabolism, and lower self-perceived impairment, we show that on a more demanding task they are just as impaired as light drinkers."

The study explained how alcohol can hamper neurobehavioral processes in heavy drinkers. The findings added to the previous studies indicating the nature and extent of hazardous effects of drinking. It also dispelled the myth that heavy drinkers were at ease with their activities compared with light infrequent drinkers.

The authors of the study emphasized how regular drinking to intoxication levels results in cellular adaptation within the brain, thus, altering the sensitivity level to alcohol. Inability to judge the gravity of any situation while drunk can result in heavy drinkers taking unnecessary risks.

Road to recovery

Sovereign Health of Texas offers evidence-backed detox facilities for complete recovery from addiction to alcohol or any other kind of addictive substance. We strive to ensure that every patient has the best chance of a successful recovery. For more information, contact our 24/7 helpline for expert advice on our detox treatment centers.

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Alcohol Awareness Month: No, drinking doesn't help perform complex tasks - Sovtexas

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"Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the Bible says love your enemy." The quote by late American singer-actor Frank Sinatra explains the attitude alcohol lovers harbor about their drinks. Heavy social drinkers have the notion that they have a higher tolerance level to the effects of alcohol and can complete their tasks without their ...

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Alcohol Awareness Month: Need to convince friends to seek help for drinking problem 

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Alcohol Awareness Month: Need to convince friends to seek help for drinking problem 

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Excessive drinking can bring in a plethora of problems for both the body and the mind. Some people drink so much that eventually they get dependent on it without even realizing. Even others fail to understand the problem because most of the people are not aware of the signs and problems associated with drinking.

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Excessive drinking can bring in a plethora of problems for both the body and the mind. Some people drink so much that eventually they get dependent on it without even realizing. Even others fail to understand the problem because most of the people are not aware of the signs and problems associated with drinking. Those dependent on alcohol do not realize that it can affect their physiological and psychological health.

To talk about the need to reach out to various American communities and inform them about alcohol, alcoholism and recovery, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) observes Alcohol Awareness Month in April every year.

There are many signs to help understand if someone has been abusing alcohol. These may include increased frequency of drinking, likelihood to be involved in binge drinking, inability to fulfill obligations at work or at home due to unrelenting drinking tendencies and tendency to continue drinking despite adverse consequences. After looking at the signs, one should proactively help and encourage those dependent on alcohol to seek the necessary help.

Spotting signs of alcohol dependence

People dependent on alcohol do not want to believe that they have a drinking problem. The idea is to approach them with empathy and care that would make them share their addiction problem. Despite realizing that their dependence on alcohol needs to be checked, drinkers usually feel humiliated if they are told that they have been drinking too much. The denial stems from the widespread pervasiveness of alcohol culture that America is finding it difficult to get rid of it. It is necessary to show concern as opposed to disapproval of their drinking habit.

While helping such a person, one must take care to maintain positivity during the entire conversation so that drinkers do not back out when advised about the help they require. There is also a need to stress on the kind of improvement they would undergo on abstaining from alcohol. Drinkers need to be empathized with, and that is possible if others show genuine concern and sympathy toward them.

For every conversation to have the necessary impact, it is important for the timing to be right. Knowing what to speak also depends a lot on knowing when to speak. Choosing the right moment is vital to any conversation considering that the people involved must be in the right frame of mind to discuss an issue that is so critical. This entire exercise might help in saving someone's life.

Road to recovery

With an increasing number of Americans succumbing to the hazardous effects of alcohol, it has become imperative to inform people about the harmful effects of alcohol. In addition to this, there is a need to dispel the myth that an addiction to substances, including alcohol, is untreatable.

Any kind of addiction recovery commences with the first step of detoxification. It is a set of procedures that help eliminate unwanted chemicals accumulated in the body due to constant drinking. It also prepares the body for the next level of treatment. Detoxification can result in painful withdrawal symptoms, so the procedure must be carried out under medical supervision.

Sovereign Health of Texas examines its patients scientifically for signs of alcohol abuse before recommending the necessary interventions - pharmacological or behavioral. For more information about our detox treatment centers in the U.S., call us at our 24/7 helpline or chat online for expert advice about the best detox facilities in your vicinity. One must not delay the treatment or things may go out of hand.

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Alcohol Awareness Month: Need to convince friends to seek help for drinking problem - Sovtexas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Excessive drinking can bring in a plethora of problems for both the body and the mind. Some people drink so much that eventually they get dependent on it without even realizing. Even others fail to understand the problem because most of the people are not aware of the signs and problems associated with drinking.