Alcohol’s Long-Term Effects on the Body

As it travels through the bloodstream, alcohol causes red blood cells to become abnormally large, and decreases the number of white blood cells, which are important for fighting infections. This results in a weakened immune system, placing alcoholics in more danger of contracting diseases. With increased and habitual use, alcohol can push blood pressure up to a hazardous level, while at the same time, increasing heart size. This leads to a weakened heart muscle, with greater chances of blood clots forming, and ultimately, a relatively good likelihood of a stroke occurring.

In the nervous system, alcohol acts as both a depressant and anesthetic. Although it is a depressant, alcohol initially creates a pleasant feeling of relaxation. Over time, the brain and nervous system become less sensitive to its effects, which means that a greater quantity must be consumed to p

After a night of disturbed sleep, the sedative properties of alcohol are increased in strength during the day. If alcohol has been consumed late at night, a person’s performance, attention, and coordination are noticeably reduced the following morning. Alcohol seems to be able to diminish a person’s ability to wake themselves up, even if it is consumed in moderate amounts. This is observable to the point where driving ability is affected, not just in the hours after consumption, but sometimes for days afterwards. If a buildup of nights with poor sleep are experienced, alcohol can disrupt the person’s normal sleep cycle, which is vital for overall health. Therefore, a person can still be feeling the detrimental effects of alcohol on the following morning of consumption.

Many people use alcohol as a way of dealing with social and other anxieties and this in turn can lead increased drinking and more frequent experiences of anxieties when sober. Dependent drinkers may complain of feeling anxious and restless and relieve those feelings by drinking. Although alcohol may provide temporary relief, it does in the long run create more anxieties. Because of the person’s habit of using alcohol as a crutch, they themselves become weaker to resist these feelings of anxiousness, or ‘panic attacks’. It can develop to the point where someone feels uncomfortable and distressed whenever they are not under the influence of alcohol.

Alcohol does seem to accelerate falling asleep. The negative effects come later and affect the quality and length of sleep. Sleep is a complicated experience in which there are several alternating stages: deep sleep, which is known as REM sleep, during which a person dreams, and light sleep. An unaltered cycle of these two stages of sleep is vital for a person’s health, and well being. Alcohol disturbs and interrupts the cycle of REM sleep and light sleep. Therefore, alcoholics and some people who have stopped drinking even long before, complain about disturbed sleep, frightening dreams and insomnia. The disruptive effects of alcoho

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