By now everyone has heard of dry January — when you abstain from alcohol for the 31 days of the first month of the year. Whether you’ve decided to participate in dry January, do you know what alcohol does to your body? Read on to find out!
Your Brain Shrinks
Alcohol can affect how your brain works and even looks. Alcohol changes your brain cells so they can change and even shrink. This can affect the way you think, learn, and remember things.
You Get Less Quality Sleep
Alcohol might slow your brain down, and make you drowsy so you go to sleep ore easily, but you won’t get good sleep. Your body processes alcohol all night, and as the effects wear off you’ll toss and turn. You won’t get that good REM sleep that you need to feel restored. And you’ll wake up more for trips to the bathroom.
Your Gut Won’t Thank You
Alcohol irritates the lining of your stomach producing digestive juices. If there’s a lot of stomach acid and alcohol built up you might throw up. You can also get painful ulcers, Our small intestine and colon get irritated, too. This makes heartburn and diarrhea more likely.
If you’re going to drink alcohol, drink in moderation. Experts say it’s okay to have up to one drink a day if you’re a woman or two if you’re a man. Drinking too much over the long run can cause serious health problems.
Happy sweating!
Meghan
