Short term effects of alcohol on the body

We drink, we feel different.

We stop drinking and sooner or later we feel 'normal' again.

But what's really going on inside our bodies and how does alcohol affect us in the short term?

Quick Links on this page:

Alcohol's anaesthetic effects
Are there immediate risks to health with alcohol?

The stages of intoxication:
Stage 1 – A social lubricant?
Stage 2 – Giddy up!
Stage 3 – I'm perfickly shober!
Stage 4 – Nobody's friend . . .
Stage 5 – Unconscious or dead

What about alcohol tolerance?

Alcohol's anaesthetic effects

Alcohol affects the brain like an anaesthetic. In fact, one of the very first anaesthetics ever used in medicine – ether – is based on alcohol.

As with anaesthetics, the more alcohol take the more of our brain it shuts down. The abilities we acquire last in life, like controlling our behaviour, are the first to be lost. The abilities we acquire first, like being able to breathe, are the last to go.

Are there immediate risks to health with alcohol?

If you drink sensibly,you should avoid any nasty consequence in both the short and the long term. If you drink to excess, your personal safety may be at risk. If you have very heavy session, there is an increased risk of having stroke and heart attack afterwards. It is also possible to drink so much that you fall into a coma and stop breathing or choke on your own vomit.

The stages of intoxication

Stage 1 – A social lubricant?

After one or two drinks (1-3 units), we're more talkative and our heart rate speeds up a little, giving us an 'up' feeling. This is the effect that people refer to when they say alcohol makes them feel more sociable. The 'warm feeling', or flushes, is caused by alcohol in the blood making small blood vessels in the skin expand, allowing more blood to flow closer to the surface and lowering blood pressure at the same time.

Stage 2 – Giddy up!

After a couple more drinks (4-6 units) we feel light headed and our co-ordination and reaction times are impaired. Our ability to make decisions is also slowed down. All of these effects are cased by alcohol acting on nerve cells all around the body and making them work more slowly. Driving will be illegal (and dangerous) and operating machinery a bad idea.

Stage 3 – I'm perfickly shober!

Another few drinks (7-9 units) and most people will show definite outward signs of alcohol's effects. Reaction times are much slower, vision becomes blurry and speech is slurred. Drinking more than eight units at a time seriously overloads the liver. If we take care of ourselves in the days to come, it should repair itself but for tomorrow a hangover is pretty much guaranteed.

Stage 4 – Nobody's friend . . .

Drinking more than 10 units has most people staggering about the place. Accidents are commonplace – as are fights caused by bumping into people who're easily upset by such things. This amount of alcohol will be affecting cells all over the body. In an effort to rid itself of the poison, the body tries to pass the alcohol out mixed with water in our urine. This is why alcohol makes us go to the loo a lot and is the cause of the dehydration that gives us morning-after headaches. Alcohol also attacks the gut, causing stomach upsets, heartburn, sickness and diarrhoea.

Stage 5 – Unconscious or dead

Drinking more than 30 units (that's about twelve pints of strong lager) is enough to knock most people out. From there, it's a short step to heart failure and breathing slowing to a stop. Even when people are already unconscious, alcohol in the stomach can continue to be absorbed and can reach lethal levels. People can also be sick and suffocate on their vomit.

For these reasons, it's crucial never to leave very drunk people on their own.

Read about what you should do if someone is severely drunk or drunk and unconscious.

What about alcohol tolerance?

You may be thinking "hang on a minute - I can drink more than 10 units and be okay".

People who regularly drink too much develop a tolerance to alcohol. This means that more alcohol can be consumed than is normal, without the person seeming to suffer the same effects as outlined above.

Unfortunately, a tolerance to alcohol does not protect us from harm.

Having a high tolerance to alcohol can indicate that a person drinks too much and the more we drink, the more damage it will cause.

If you're worried, find out more about your relationship with alcohol and what you can do about it with the My drinking Questionnaire.

Next page: Long-term effects of alcohol