Statistics say that 8.7 million Americans between the ages twelve and through twenty said they have recently consumed alcohol(“NIH)”. When a person is under the influence, they have consumed enough alcohol for their mental and physical features to become impaired. Teenage drinking is an issue that has haunted society for generations. Each year, approximately 5,000 teenagers die from alcohol related car crashes, alcohol poisoning, homicides, suicides, and other injuries (“Underage”). Scientists say that developmental transitions are key factors in a teens decision to consume alcohol. Therefore, because the teen’s brain is undeveloped, it has led them to drink. Drinking alcohol with an undeveloped brain may cause a loss of intellectual capabilities, …show more content…
Alcohol can cause alterations in the structure, and the consequences may be evident beyond adolescence. Even though alcohol appears to be a stimulant, really it is a central nervous system depressant, depressing the brains inhibition control center (“too smart to start”). Neuron connectivity is vital to every human. Connectivity can be slowed down by alcohol consumption, which leads the person to think, speak, and move slower (“too smart to start”). Long term effects include memory loss and continuity of poor judgement. The cerebral cortex works with the senses; when the senses are debilitated, information is forgotten and senses do not function properly. The hippocampus regulates a person’s memories. When consuming too much alcohol, or even just one or two drinks, the hippocampus will damage, and a person will struggle remembering minor and large details. Teenagers often gloat over not being able to remember the night before. Even though their night may have been an “awesome blackout” their hippocampus has already been permanently damaged. The person now, can not hold on to knowledge and learn the same as before. The cerebellum controls coordination, thoughts and awareness (“too smart to start”). On most occasions, people have problems with these skills when consuming alcohol. In grade school, D.A.R.E. representatives brought “drunk goggles” to school. Studies show that alcoholism in the cerebellum …show more content…
Teens who do not drink are less likely to engage in sexual activity than teens who do drink (“Questia”). While impaired, people are more likely to have sex with someone they do not know. Taking that risk can be very dangerous, because they become exposed to diseases or expose others. Failing to use birth control in this kind of situation can lead to teenage pregnancy; therefore, the teen may or may not know the father of the child. It is stereotypical for teenagers to engage in sexual activity while under the influence of alcohol. When people are drunk, they lower their inhibitions, allowing themselves to let go more than usual. Many people are against sex before marriage, but teens rarely bother to make sure that happens while drinking. Alcohol tends to ease teenagers insecurities and makes them feel more open or fearless. The undeveloped, immature brain that allows teens to drink, will most likely regret sexual decisions while under the
The article, “Alcohol can rewire the teenage brain,” starts by stating that more than 4,750 American kids aged 15 and younger, said they took their first drink of alcohol already. Kids who start drinking before the age of 15 are more likely to become alcoholics because they get addicted to the drug. The article also states that they are more likely to start binge drinking. A study conducted by Lorena Siqueira a pediatrician at the Florida International University and Nicklaus Children’s hospital in Miami, reported that, “When kids drink, they tend to do heavy drinking,” and that, “Their bodies are not ready to handle that kind of alcohol.” Teens think that alcohol will help them feel happier and better, but that is not true. Teens also drink
There are many consequences of binge drinking. It causes a lot of health problems in an adolescent’s life, possibly short or long term. Feeling nauseated, having a hangover and memory loss are just a few of many things that are short term. In addition to short term effects, the long term effects are more severe and even deadly. One of the worst long term effects of binge drinking is the loss of brain stem cells. Dr Fulton Crews, mentioned that “The adolescent 's brain is much more sensitive to alcohol toxicity than adults’, including being vulnerable to cell death.”
“ We found that one high dose of alcohol caused significant loss of brain stem cells.” Says Dr. Brien. Loosing brain cells at an early age is a serious issue. Teens can lack social skills and develop social anxiety, as well as depression. The suicide rate in teens have gone up tremendously in the past few years, consuming alcohol in under aged teens is a huge factor. Under aged drinking has become an ongoing issue, parents need to sit down with their children and address the seriousness of drinking irresponsibly, because not only will it affect their bodies long term, but they also one day may subject their parents to having them bury their
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Many young people are facing the consequences of excessive drinking, at a too early age. Because of this issue, underage drinking is a leading public health problem. Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking including about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drownings (1–5).
Drinking among teenagers is prone to cause long term damages in their life. At the adolescent stage, teenagers brain are still developing up until the they are in the 20’s. It is a fact that alcohol causes brain damages to anyone who consumes it but because of this occurrence in adolescent’s body,they are more affected by this. According to Saner in the article Health: Drunk young things: Teenage drinkers don 't just risk making fools of
Previous research in this field has led to the determination that the consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages leads to an increased level of high-risk behavior among adolescents and young adults. Some of these high-risk behaviors include driving while intoxicated, unprotected sexual activity, and illegal substance abuse. In addition, heavy binge drinking is widely accepted as contributing to “neurocognitive deficits” and increased “morbidity and mortality.” Much of the previous research has focused on college-aged young adults. This study hopes to greatly shed light on the age group from 13 to 17 years old (pre-collegiate adolescents). In addition, the study hopes to
Many negative effects come with drinking alcohol. Since teenagers’ brains are not fully developed until they are in their mid 20’s, it is especially dangerous to them. The legal alcohol age should not be eighteen because it harms the teenage brain and body, it has negative (and potentially fatal) effects on school, and it has negative effects on driving.
Teens that do the underage drinking can have many health problems. Health problems that can be caused by underage drinking is Death, serious injuries, impaired judgment, increased risk for physical and sexual assault, brain development problems. All of these health problems are serious, and they aren’t thought about by teens before they have a drink. (Underage) Impaired judgments can be considered irresponsible drinking. Significant increase were also found for other variables: “cutting class after drinking” jumped from 9% to almost 12%; “missing class because of hangover” went from 26% to 28%; “getting lower grades because of drinking” rose from 5% to 7% and “been in a fight after drinking” increased from 12% to 17%; these are examples of irresponsible behavior. (Dr. Ruth)
Alcohol can take a huge toll on adolescent brains as well. In the article, “Teen Drinking May Cause Irreversible Brain Damage” the reader is told that Susan Tapert took a close look into the nerve tissue in teens’ brains. She found that kids who binge drink had “a number of little dings”(4) in their nerve tissue. This shows that there is poor connection with the brain cells. The hippocampus was affected and looked different as well. This affects memory,
Alcohol affects the brain for a short-term– but repeated drinking may have an impact down the road, especially as a person’s brains grow and develop (NIDA, 2016). When a person is under the influence, he or she may feel their bodies having less aware of their surroundings. A person also may feel very relaxed and perform risky behavior, without even realizing. Long- term effects of alcoholism can cause a person to have trouble processing, learning, or a dependence on
“Alcohol is the drug of choice among youth. Many young people are experiencing the consequences of drinking too much, at too early an age. As a result, underage drinking is a leading public health problem in this country. Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking; this includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drownings. Yet, drinking continues to be widespread among adolescents. (NIAAA)
Alcohol can really affect the growing and developmental process for teens. It can stop the brain from developing really hurting them for the future. It can also hinder the maturation of new brain constituents. This means that the connectors between the brain and nerve cells can stop developing and old ones can be torn apart (Spear). This can lead to a change in the brains thinking making teens more inclined to try risky behaviors. Also the prefrontal cortex is altered from drinking. This makes memory and rule
Someone is sitting at a restaurant bar. A waitress walks over handing out free shots, so he takes one. One leads to two, two leads to three, and so on. Before he realizes it, he is talking louder than ever, tripping over his own feet, and causing a scene. Toward the end of the night, he walks into someone’s table, as he is heading out of the restaurant, knocking over their meals. He tries to say something, but all that comes out is mumbling. The next morning, he is feeling dizzy, has a pounding headache, and does not remember anything from the night before.
Teenage binge drinking may also result in undesired health outcomes. The human brain is still developing up to the early 20s. Therefore, drinking may influence teenagers’ intellectual capability. Teenage drinking also increases the chances of adult drinking problems, which may also have some health issues. Deteriorated memory capacity is an example of the health issues that may result from binge drinking (Heffernan, Clark and Bartholomew 74). Binge drinking may also make teenagers addicted to alcohol, which may have far-reaching effects on
http://www.alcoholism.tqn.com/library/weekly/aa022697.htm?pid=2750&cob=home. Whether a crime was committed intentionally or unintentionally has great bearing on the decision of a jury in finding a person guilty of a crime and/or on the judge's choice of punishment. You might have heard of husbands apologizing to their wives the day after they've beaten them. Their apology might sound something like, "I'm so sorry. I did not mean to hurt you, I swear!" Does alcohol have the capability to make a person forget? Can a person be unaware of his surroundings and yet still be able to interact with it? More importantly, can alcohol change a person's personality enough that it would cause him to do things