The team does not believe this suggests female rats are immune from the effects of alcohol, but that there could be sex-related sensitivities in long-term alcohol effects on brain function. The team linked the behavioral difficulties to dramatic functional transformations in the dorsomedial striatum, a part of the brain critical for decision-making. The alcohol had damaged neural circuits causing alcohol-exposed rats to process information less effectively. The federally supported work, published today in Science Advances, provides a new explanation of alcohol’s long-term effects on cognition. For the first time, researchers demonstrated in an animal how heavy alcohol use leads to long-term behavioral issues by damaging brain circuits critical for decision-making.

Excessive alcohol use includes:

Among all drinkers who have heard of these studies, 41% say they plan to reduce the amount they drink either a lot (11%) or a little (30%) due to the drug addiction findings. Still, 58% say it won’t have any impact on the amount they drink. Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand Americans’ attitudes and behaviors around alcohol use. We surveyed 5,123 U.S. adults from Feb. 24 to March 2, 2025, including 3,494 who are ages 21 and older and drink alcohol.

• If you drink more alcohol than that, consider cutting back or quitting.
• For some people, alcohol misuse results from psychological or social factors.
• Alcohol abuse can dehydrate the skin, making it dry, flaky, or prone to premature aging.
• In this disorder, people can’t stop drinking, even when drinking affects their health, puts their safety at risk and damages their personal relationships.

Alcohol misuse

A person with severe AUD will generally have heavy alcohol consumption. The CDC define heavy drinking as 15 or more drinks per week for males and 8 or more drinks per week for females. In this stage, people may be simply experimenting with alcohol consumption. They can be moderate drinkers with the occasional instance of binge drinking.

Alcohol Use and Your Health

• It is advised that biological males consume no more than 4 drinks in a single day and no more than 14 drinks total in a week.
• REM (rapid eye movement) is a part of the sleep cycle when dreams occur, and is thought to be the most restorative stage of sleep.
• Treatment can include counseling, medications, and/or mutual-support groups.
• Both were developed to ensure that people have the information they need to make informed choices about their health and alcohol consumption.

Finding the right addiction treatment program is the first step toward long term effects of alcohol the road to recovery. Living with alcohol misuse will continue to be a struggle if you do not recognize that you need help. You will continue to jeopardize your safety, your job or school, and your relationships. Maintaining sobriety—often called recovery—is a long-term process that can take many forms.

• Excessive alcohol use is a term used to describe four ways that people drink alcohol that can negatively impact health.
• Unhealthy alcohol use includes any alcohol use that puts your health or safety at risk or causes other alcohol-related problems.
• A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
• The type of harm they experience is different, but both females and males experience harm.

After completing treatment for AUD, it’s possible to have a risk of relapse. It’s important to recognize warning signs and seek help if you’re concerned about having a relapse. For some people, alcohol misuse results from psychological or social factors.

As alcohol abuse worsens, the person becomes preoccupied with alcohol and can lose control. He or she may have blackouts, which are episodes in which a person completely forgets what occurred when he or she was drunk even though he or she was conscious at the time. Alcohol abuse is the second most common form of substance abuse in the United States, after tobacco addiction. The Department of Health and Social Care recommends pregnant women and women trying to conceive should avoid drinking alcohol.

A person with severe AUD will almost always experience symptoms of withdrawal when the alcohol in their body begins to wear off. They define binge drinking, the most common form of excessive drinking, as 5 or more drinks in a single occasion for males and 4 or more drinks in a single occasion for females. Kindling is a problem that can occur following a number of episodes of withdrawal from alcohol. The severity of a person’s withdrawal symptoms may get worse each time they stop drinking, and can cause symptoms such as tremors, agitation and convulsions (seizures). Heavy drinking can also increase your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels, both of which are major risk factors for heart attacks and strokes.