Think Before you drink: The Harmful Effects of Teenage Drinking

Its Friday night and your friend invited you to come over to her house, planning to
simply have fun playing board games and to listen to music. What happens next really surprises
you. Your friends drink four or five glasses of alcohol in a row, and her fun-loving personality is
quickly transformed into a confused, bizarre behavior.
Far too many teens today make the unfortunate and damaging choice that your friends did
of consuming alcohol in their high school years. But what happens when sneaking one or two
sips of alcohol becomes chugging a whole deluge of this harmful drug? Teenage binge drinking
has become more and more frequent, affecting and taking the lives of far too many teens. Binge
drinking is drinking an alcoholic beverage with the purpose of getting intoxicated in a very short
time.
1
In raw numbers, binge drinking is classified as the consumption of 5 drinks for men and 4
drinks for women at one time, meaning that your friends consumption while you were hanging
out is considered binge drinking.
2
What are the effects of binge drinking on the development of
teens? The main damage done to the body by teenage drinking includes lasting brain and heart
damage, setting them up for alcohol issues
in adulthood.
3

4

Lets take a trip through the
systems affected in your friends body by
alcohol to understand. The consumption of
the alcohol hijacks, the prefrontal cortex
of her brain
5
during her binge drinking
episode, an important part of the organ
highlighted in the diagram below
6
. This
part of the brain prevents and controls certain behaviors in the body. Binge drinking incapacitates
part of the control center of her brain.
7


1
"Binge Drinking." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 May 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binge_drinking>
2
"Teen Binge Drinking - Teen Alcohol Use." Teen Binge Drinking - Teen Alcohol Use. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014.
<http://www.teenhelp.com/teen-alcohol-use/teen-binge-drinking.html>.
3

3
"Teen Binge Drinking - Teen Alcohol Use." Teen Binge Drinking - Teen Alcohol Use. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014.
<http://www.teenhelp.com/teen-alcohol-use/teen-binge-drinking.html>.
4
"Shot Glasses." - Stock Photo Pedro Antonio Salaverra Calahorra #5350004. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014.
<http://depositphotos.com/5350004/stock-photo-Shot-glasses.html>.
5
"Brain Study." Brain Study. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://brainstudy.wordpress.com/tag/blackout/>.
6
N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2014. <http://disjointedthinking.jeffhughes.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/brain-
prefrontal-cortex.jpg>.
7
"Brain Study." Brain Study. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://brainstudy.wordpress.com/tag/blackout/>.
Recent studies have shown that the high levels of alcohol consumption of your friend
have further effects on the physical structure of her brain. Scientists in the University of
California at San Diego have recently proven the developing brain of teens may be more
susceptible to brain damage than that of adults.
8

In addition to the increased susceptibility
of teens, the same study has also shown that the
white matter in her brain responsible for
information suffers much damage from her
episode of binge drinking. For your friend, this
can result in worse spatial orientation or some
damage to her attention to detail. Binge drinking
can also hurt her performance intellectually on
certain functions. Beyond this significant damage to the brain, binge drinking in the teen years
can additionally affect other important physical functions.
9

It has been known for a while that binge drinking can damage the liver and brain, but
recently, it was found out that her binge drinking episode can also damage her heart. According
to a recent study published in the last week of April 2013 in the Journal of the American College
of Cardiology, the alcohol can immediately impact her blood circulation. Although your friend
may not have greater cholesterol or blood pressure levels, binge drinking can hurt her health
through a stroke, heart attack, hardening in her arteries, or more serious vascular health issues.
10

If you spend time with someone you care about and want something to do, think before you
drink; dont make the decision that can damage your body for the rest of your lifetime.

8
"Teen Brains & Drinking." - Science Updates. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-
news/science-updates/teen-brains-drinking/>.
9
"Teen Brains & Drinking." - Science Updates. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-
news/science-updates/teen-brains-drinking/>.
10
"Binge Drinking in College Can Lead to Heart Disease Later in Life." CardioSource. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.
<http://www.cardiosource.org/News-Media/Media-Center/News-Releases/2013/04/Binge-drinking-
study.aspx?w_nav=Search&WT.oss=binge%20drinking%20heart%20disease&WT.oss_r=18&>.
"Binge Drinking in College or among Teenagers Can Lead to Heart Disease Later." Examiner.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
May 2014. <http://www.examiner.com/article/binge-drinking-college-or-among-teenagers-can-lead-to-heart-
disease-later>