Drinking every night is a habit for many adults – especially since 2020. However, is it a bad habit? Or does it indicate that you may be an alcoholic? Well, not necessarily. But if you’re asking yourself this question, it may be time to take stock and objectively evaluate the effects of your drinking. If you think you may be drinking too much or too often, alcohol rehab can help. 

Potential Effects of Drinking Every Night

Alcohol affects everyone differently. Further, what you experience after drinking much will vary depending on other health concerns. As a result, even if you don’t drink to a level of severe intoxication, you still could be drinking too much and negatively affect your health.

The Alcohol Research Center Reviews advises that alcohol influence your brain, and the amount of impairment experienced depends on:

• the number of drinks you consume in a day
• the rate at which you consume them

Alcohol consumption can increase your risk of severe health issues. In addition, drinking alcohol can lead to the development of chronic diseases. Above all, those who frequently consume alcohol do not often consider these risks.

For instance, some long-term severe health concerns include^[1]:

• High blood pressure and heart disease
• Stroke
• Cancer
• Weak immune system
• Mental health concerns

In addition, there could also be more immediate, short-term consequences that dramatically impact your life, such as:

• injuries from falling
• motor vehicle crashes
• domestic violence
• alcohol poisoning.^[1]

How Much Is Too Much?

“Too much” is a subjective measurement. In addition, whether you take medications or genetically fall into a higher risk category, your overall health must be examined. Further, this will determine how much alcohol is “too much” for you.

The ARCR reports that a standard drink in the U.S. is 0.6 fluid ounces or 14 grams of pure alcohol. This is the equivalent of ^[2]

• 12oz regular beer with 5% alcohol
• 5oz wine with 12% alcohol
• 5oz distilled spirits with 40% alcohol

But these numbers don’t necessarily reflect average serving sizes. For example, a heavy pour will increase these numbers quickly.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines moderate alcohol consumption as:

“……one drink a day for women and up to two per day for men.”^[3] 

By comparison, excessive drinking or high-risk drinking is:

“…..three or more drinks on any day, and four or more per night, or seven drinks per week for women and fifteen or more drinks per week for men.”^[3]

Binge drinking occurs when the maximum daily consumption is reached within two hours. However, heavy drinking is defined as:

“…..binge drinking on more than five days in the past month.”^[4]

Drinking Every Night Could Lead To AUD

Drinking every day can put you at an increased risk of developing Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). However, in some cases, it may already be a factor. As a result, someone struggling with alcoholism may not be aware of it.

This depends on how frequently (and quickly) someone consumes alcoholic beverages. Therefore, alcohol misuse, and binge drinking, can increase the risk of AUD.

Other health factors to consider include:

• genetics and family history
• drinking at a young age (or during formative years)
• any mental health or trauma history ^[6]

Alcohol rehab is recommended, and different treatments include:

• 12-step program
• alcohol detox
• inpatient or outpatient alcohol rehab programs

Further, these programs exist to see people sober and healing through customized alcohol addiction treatment programs. Also, the programs are personally designed to treat an individual most effectively.

If you or someone you know is struggling with alcoholism, reach out to Clear Life Recovery, the alcohol rehab Costa Mesa resident’s trust.

 

 

Sources:

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm

[2] https://arcr.niaaa.nih.gov/binge-drinking-predictors-patterns-and-consequences/drinking-patterns-and-their-definitions#

[3] https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking

[4] https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/understanding-alcohol-use-disorder#