The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Heavy Alcohol Use on the Brain and Body

Alcohol is legal in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Alcohol is linked to injuries, accidents, and long-term health problems — including cancer. And it probably comes as no surprise: The more alcohol you drink, the bigger the risks. 

Read on to learn more about the definition of heavy drinking, the short-term and long-term problems of alcohol use, and what to do if you or a loved one are hoping to cut down on drinking. 

What is considered heavy drinking?

Heavy alcohol use is a pattern of drinking that’s especially dangerous for your health and well-being. The CDC defines heavy alcohol use as:

• Eight or more standard drinks per week for women

• Fifteen or more standard drinks per week for men 

These numbers vary because men and women metabolize alcohol differently. 

So what’s a “standard” drink anyway? The alcohol content and serving size are what matter. One standard drink is:

• 1.5 oz of 40% (80 proof) hard liquor, like vodka, gin, or rum

• 5 oz of 12% alcohol by volume (ABV) wine

• 8 oz of 7% ABV malt liquor

• 12 oz of 5% ABV beer

Keep in mind: What looks like 1 drink can actually contain multiple servings of alcohol. For example, a margarita is typically made with 3 oz of liquor. This means it counts as 2 standard drinks — not just one. Because serving sizes can be deceiving, many people are drinking more alcohol than they realize. 

What are the short-term effects of heavy alcohol use?

Heavy drinking can increase your risk of accidents, injuries, hangovers, and more. Let’s take a closer look. 

Hangovers

Many people experience hangovers the day after heavy drinking. Hangovers are unpleasant symptoms caused by alcohol’s effects on the body. 

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Symptoms of a hangover include:

• Nausea

• Stomach pain

• Headache

• Muscle pain

• Fatigue

• Irritability

• Sweating

• Increased thirst

• Dizziness

• Sensitivity to sound and light

• Increase in blood pressure

Unintentional injuries

When you drink alcohol, your blood alcohol level (BAC) rises and you become less alert. Your reaction time slows. Your muscle coordination and balance suffer. All of this puts you at risk of unintentional injuries and accidents, such as falls, motor vehicle crashes, and drowning.

Electrolyte imbalances and dehydration

Alcohol also affects kidney functioning. The kidneys work to balance the amount of electrolytes in the body. Electrolytes are minerals that help your body maintain healthy levels of water. Alcohol increases urination, which can cause an imbalance in electrolytes and lead to dehydration. In small amounts, this can cause headaches, low energy, and increased thirst. 

After a mild drinking episode, the body will work to restore balance. However, if you drink heavy amounts of alcohol frequently, then your body may experience more severe dehydration and have a harder time restoring balance. 

Poor concentration and slow brain functioning

When you drink alcohol, it quickly begins to affect your brain’s communication pathways. This can lead to problems with: 

• Balance

• Speech

• Judgment

• Memory

Having just 1 drink can affect how your brain works. As you continue to drink, your level of impairment increases. 

If you drink a large amount of alcohol at one time, you’re also at risk of experiencing a blackout, which is a gap in memory. Drinking too much alcohol lowers the brain’s ability to transfer short-term memories into long-term storage. This is how you can forget events in a chunk of time. 

Alcohol poisoning

Alcohol poisoning (alcohol overdose) is when a person’s BAC is too high. This causes body functions like breathing and circulation to shut down. Symptoms of alcohol poisoning include:

• Loss of consciousness

• Vomiting repeatedly

• Vomiting while unconscious

• Cool, clammy skin

• Bluish fingernails, lips, or gums

• Being disoriented or confused

• Not breathing well, or breathing very slowly

• Seizure

If a person has any of these signs, you should call 911 or go to the emergency room. Alcohol poisoning is a medical emergency that can lead to brain damage or death. 

What are the long-term effects of heavy alcohol use?

Alcohol has a negative effect on many different organs in your body, including the brain. This can put you at risk of significant health problems. Here’s what you need to know. 

Long-term effects of alcohol on the brain

Chronic heavy alcohol use makes it harder for brain cells (neurons) to communicate with each other. It also decreases the size of neurons in the brain. This causes brain shrinkage and may lead to cognitive and emotional problems. 

Alcohol can also increase the risk of:

• Depression and anxiety: People with alcohol use disorder are more likely to have mental health conditions, like anxiety and depression. Liver disease from chronic alcohol use can also cause changes in mood, personality, and sleeping habits. 

• Memory and learning impairments: Drinking heavily can affect many different cognitive functions, including attention, learning, and memory. 

• Dementia: Heavy alcohol use can lead to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a condition involving confusion, problems with muscle coordination, difficulty controlling eye movements, and memory loss.

Long-term effects of alcohol on the body

Chronic heavy alcohol use is linked to a number of long-term health conditions. Alcohol affects the following organs:

• Heart: Drinking can increase your risk of heart-related problems, like high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and heart failure. 

• Liver: Alcohol can have profound effects on your liver. Heavy alcohol use can cause fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis.

• Pancreas: Heavy alcohol use can lead to pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas that affects digestion. 

• Skin: Alcohol can affect your skin, the largest organ in the body. Heavy alcohol use is linked to skin conditions like psoriasis, rosacea (blushing of the skin), dandruff, hives, and inflammation.

• Gut health: Alcohol can cause inflammation and bleeding in your gastrointestinal (GI) system. It’s also linked to GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). 

• Immune system: Alcohol can interfere with your immune system, making it harder for you to recover from injuries and infections. 

• Lungs: Alcohol can damage the cells in your lungs, making you more susceptible to severe lung problems. 

Alcohol and cancer

Alcohol is a carcinogen. This means it is capable of causing cancer — just like radiation, asbestos, and tobacco. 

According to the CDC, alcohol is linked to at least six types of cancer:

• Mouth and throat cancer

• Voice box cancer

• Esophageal cancer

• Colorectal cancer

• Liver cancer

• Breast cancer

The more alcohol you drink, the higher your risk. But even small amounts of alcohol can put you at risk for certain cancers. One study found that drinking a bottle of wine per week (5 glasses) has the same cancer risk as: 

• Five cigarettes per week for men

• Ten cigarettes per week for women

Finding help for alcohol use disorder

If you think that you or a loved one are dealing with alcohol use disorder, help is available. 

Treatment can help you reduce your alcohol use or quit completely. Cutting down or quitting can decrease the risks of other problems associated with drinking, like financial, health, and relationship problems. 

About 1 in 3 people who receive treatment for alcohol use disorder recover after a year. Others are able to decrease their drinking to the point that they experience fewer problems and live more satisfying lives. 

To find help for alcohol use disorder, you can:

• Ask your primary care provider for a referral or recommendation.

• Contact your health insurance company for a list of in-network healthcare professionals.

• Search the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s (NIAAA) Alcohol Treatment Navigator, which provides a directory of providers and treatment programs.

Along with treatment, self-help groups can be beneficial. They can help you connect with others dealing with similar issues. These groups can also help you learn ways to cope. The groups are free and led either by a peer or a trained facilitator. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and SMART Recovery are two self-help groups that offer meetings both in person and online. 

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Emily Guarnotta, PsyD

Emily Guarnotta, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and certified perinatal mental health professional with over 10 years of clinical experience.

Edited by:

Sophie Vergnaud, MD

Sophie Vergnaud, MD, is the Senior Medical Director for GoodRx Health. An experienced and dedicated pulmonologist and hospitalist, she spent a decade practicing and teaching clinical medicine at academic hospitals throughout London before transitioning to a career in health education and health technology.

Reviewed by:

Sarah Gupta, MD

Sarah Gupta, MD, is a licensed physician with a special interest in mental health, sex and gender, eating disorders, and the human microbiome. She is currently board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

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