Published June 25, 2020 · Reviewed by Sergey Litvinov, MD · ~683 words

Understanding the effects of alcohol on the body

Two drinks in, one person gets loud and funny while the person next to them goes quiet and heavy. Same bottle, same night. That is where the question comes from: Is alcohol a stimulant or a depressant?

The answer is that alcohol is primarily a depressant, though it does have stimulant-like effects early on, which is why the first hour of drinking feels nothing like the fourth.

Stimulant vs. depressant: how alcohol affects you

Alcohol can raise your heart rate at first, lower your inhibitions and make you more sociable, which is what people expect from a stimulant. That part does not last. Unlike cocaine or methamphetamine, alcohol slows down the central nervous system over time, so drowsiness, clumsy coordination and slower thinking follow.

When alcohol is classified as a depressant, that means it can slow down vital functions, such as:

• Breathing and heart rate
• Blood flow regulation
• Cognitive processing and reaction times
• Motor skills and coordination

So the lift you feel early on is temporary. What alcohol does over the course of the night is sedate you.

Does alcohol cause depression?

It’s important to distinguish between alcohol as a depressant and alcohol causing depression. Alcohol can feed mental health problems, but it does not directly cause clinical depression. Heavy drinking does bring mood swings, anxiety and emotional instability, and those raise the risk of a depressive disorder.

A lot of people drink to get through stress or sadness, and it usually makes the thing underneath worse. When both are going on, both have to be treated.

Effects of alcohol misuse

How hard alcohol hits your body depends on how much you drink and how often. These are the common effects of alcohol misuse:

Mild to moderate effects:

• Lowered ability to make rational decisions
• Difficulty concentrating
• Impaired depth perception
• Initial increase in heart rate, followed by a gradual decrease
• Slurred speech
• Reduced motor coordination
• Digestive issues (vomiting, diarrhea)
• Mood swings

Severe effects:

• Lower body temperature
• High blood pressure
• Loss of consciousness
• Memory blackouts
• Increased risk of liver disease and cancer
• Stroke and cardiovascular problems
• Death (in cases of severe alcohol poisoning)

When does alcohol become dangerous?

Alcohol turns dangerous when you drink in excess or when you are somewhere it is not safe to be impaired. The main risks:

• Binge drinking: drinking a large amount in a short time, which pushes you to dangerous intoxication levels.
• Chronic heavy drinking: drinking heavily over years, which can cause organ damage that does not reverse.
• Alcohol poisoning: your body cannot process what you drank, which can mean severe complications or death.

Signs of alcohol poisoning:

• Excessive vomiting
• Severe confusion and disorientation
• Slow or irregular breathing (fewer than 8 breaths per minute)
• Pale, gray, or blue skin
• Loss of consciousness or inability to stay awake
• Seizures
• Risk of coma or death

If you notice these symptoms in someone, seek emergency medical attention immediately.

Overcoming alcohol addiction with professional help

If drinking is costing you your health, your work or the people around you, a professional recovery center is where that stops. At Pines Recovery Life Detox, we run physician-led medical detox and residential inpatient treatment. Levels of care for alcohol dependence include:

• Inpatient detox center : medically supervised withdrawal management.
• Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) : a structured treatment plan with medical support.
• Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) : treatment that fits around daily responsibilities.
• Transitional Living Program : support for getting back into a sober life.
• Wellness Programs : approaches that treat more than the drinking.

Take the first step towards a sober life

Deciding to stop drinking takes more than most people give you credit for. At Pines Recovery Life Detox, our team will be with you for all of it. Don’t let alcohol control your life.

Call us today at 800.263.3869 or contact us online to talk about what stopping would look like for you. Getting free of alcohol is hard, and almost nobody does it alone.