Are You Binge Drinking?

You are binge drinking if you are having four or more drinks in a row one or more times in a two week period. It may seem like you are just having fun but you are seriously harming yourself now and in the future.

Binge drinking increases the risk of:

• Blood Alcohol Content Calculator
• Injury and death- Binge drinking leads to 6 deaths every day in the United States
• Short and long term consequences 
• Unplanned pregnancy and getting a sexually transmitted Infection
• Acquaintance rape- 1/2 of all violent crimes involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator, the victim, or both
• Alcoholism
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Brain damage
• Liver disease
• Heart disease
• Kidney disease

How to reduce binge drinking

Binge drinking affects academic success

• Cortical thickness, or outer brain volume, is significantly reduced.
• Impaired control, self-perception, and self-care; greater risk-taking; and worse academic or occupational consequences compared to light drinkers.
• Lower levels of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), the most important inhibitory (calming) neurotransmitter, in the frontal lobe. Deficiencies in GABA are associated with a range of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, and insomnia.
• Lower levels of the metabolite NAA (N-acetylaspartate). Deficiencies in NAA are associated with impaired neuronal health (brain cell integrity).