C07. Alcohol problems

TOC

There are many good things about drinking alcohol, such as facilitating communication, relieving stress, drinking in moderation can lead to a longer life, and drinking before bed.

On the other hand, there are also some bad things said about it, such as drunk driving, "drinking promiscuity," organ damage such as liver damage, and alcoholism. Appropriate drinking (moderate drinking) differs from person to person, so it may be difficult to define. However, there is no harm in knowing the following three points.

1. How long does it take for alcohol to break down?

2. Behavior when drunk (acute alcohol poisoning)

3. The Harm of Drinking Before Night

How long does the body stay drunk ? In a recent news story, a 25-year-old man went to a restaurant with friends from 7pm one day, then went to another restaurant by himself and drank until about 4am the next day. After taking a two-hour nap in his car, he drove his car, saying, "After taking a nap, my mind was clear, and I thought I wouldn't cause an accident," and ended up paying a 300,000 yen fine for violating the Road Traffic Act. Even though your mind is clear after a nap, alcohol remains in your body.

The ability to metabolize alcohol differs from person to person, and even for the same person, it differs depending on the physical condition. In general, it is said that when a man (weighing 60 kg) drinks "one unit of alcohol (one medium-sized bottle of beer (500 ml), one cup of sake (180 ml), or one double shot of whiskey)," it remains in the body for about 3 to 4 hours. If we assume that it remains in the body for 4 hours to be safe, if you drink 4 units (four Jockey shots of draft beer) between 9:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m., the alcohol will remain in your body until around noon the next day . Even for a person weighing 100 kg, it will remain in the body until after 7:00 p.m. Do not drive or practice while drunk.

When we think of acute alcohol poisoning , we think of "death from injury or coma." However, from a psychiatric perspective, it is known to cause inappropriate sexual behavior (groping, non-consensual sexual intercourse, etc.), aggressive behavior (fighting, violence, posting on social media, etc.), mood instability (suicide, etc.), and impaired judgment (drinking and driving, going to after-parties with people you don't know well, etc.) . From a physical perspective, it is a " life crisis ," but from a psychiatric perspective, it is a " social life crisis ." In fact, we often see news reports of people of high social standing committing sexual assaults on trains or committing violent crimes on the streets.

Finally, let's talk about the negative effects of drinking before bed on sleep.

1) Alcohol has the effect of making sleep shallow . This means that you don't feel like you've had a good night's sleep and you can't get rid of your fatigue. 2) It also has a diuretic effect, which makes you go to the bathroom many times, disrupting your sleep. 3) Drinking alcohol before bed causes you to snore. Alcohol makes the muscles in the air passages, such as the tongue and throat, loosen, making it difficult to breathe, and the brain wakes up and sends a signal to breathe, causing you to resume breathing with snoring. While you are sleeping, you receive signals to wake up and breathe many times, so your brain wakes up many times. Therefore, drinking before bed does not allow you to get a proper sleep . Furthermore, if you continue to drink before bed, you will develop a "tolerance" (become more tolerant to alcohol) and develop a physical dependency. Sleep is important for athletes, but alcohol interferes with that proper sleep .