The brain controls our entire body. The brain needs to remain healthy and work properly for all the tasks, from the desire to eat and drink, to walking, getting up, sleeping, and waking up. But do you know that due to some of our bad habits, the brain is getting seriously damaged? Not only this but in some people, the size of the brain is also getting smaller due to this.
Studies have said that although many dietary and lifestyle habits can hurt the health of the brain, the one habit due to which the most side effects are being seen is alcohol consumption.
If you drink alcohol for a long time, then due to this the size and functionality of the brain start getting affected. Over time, its cells start changing and they also become smaller. Drinking too much alcohol can cause your brain to shrink, which can cause many types of side effects.
Problems caused by alcohol
According to a report by WebMD, alcohol can affect your body in different ways. WHO says that consuming alcohol in any amount cannot be considered appropriate because it affects everyone's body in different ways. Drinking alcohol for a long time can cause serious health problems like heart disease or liver damage.
Apart from this, alcohol is also very harmful to your brain. Due to changes in the size of the brain due to alcohol, your ability to think, understand, and work can be affected.
Brain cells may change
If you drink alcohol in large quantities for a long time, then due to this, brain cells gradually start changing. Due to changes in the size of the brain or its shrinkage, your ability to think, learn, and remember things is badly affected. This can also make it difficult to keep the body temperature stable and control your physical desires.
What do experts say?
Dr. Daniel Atkinson, a professor at Penn Medicine, says that even moderate alcohol consumption can reduce the size of the hippocampus. This part of the brain is considered essential for learning things and maintaining memory. The hippocampus is an area of the brain that has a unique and delicate structure. New neurons are constantly formed here through neurogenesis.
This is the reason why after drinking alcohol, your ability to remember something, think, and make decisions is greatly reduced.
Sleep can also be disrupted
One of the side effects of alcohol is that it also disrupts your sleep. Not being able to sleep well at night can also lead to a risk of chemical imbalance in the brain. On the other hand, if you are often unable to complete your sleep, then it can also affect your health in the long term.
Dr. Daniel says, do not limit the side effects caused by alcohol only to the liver and digestion. It is harmful to overall health.
(PC: ISTOCK)
