Overtime alcohol can do damage to key organs of the body including the liver and the brain. Alcohol can also lead to weight gain and other health-related issues. Alcohol and aging are also synonymous due to the negative effects alcohol has on the body. Some types of dementia and alcohol-related brain damage develop as your brain cells shrink.

As a result, you may notice the urge to urinate more frequently when you drink alcohol. Chronic dehydration can make you look and feel older, even if you take good care of yourself with a skin care routine that includes moisturizers and sunscreen. A bout of heavy drinking will make wrinkles like crow’s feet, brow furrows and smile lines appear more prominent. There are just as many negative invisible body changes that can occur due to heavy drinking as there are visible body changes. Perhaps the biggest sign of aging that you can’t physically see is the effect that drinking has on your brain. Studies have shown that alcohol can age the brain so much that young people who drink regularly have been found to share similar brain activity to those of elderly adults. For example, young people who drink regularly have been shown to perform poorly in tests of executive function.

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Older people have thinner bones than younger people, so their bones break more easily. Studies show that the rate of various types of fractures in older adults increases with heavy alcohol use. Alcohol is a factor in about 30% of suicides and fatal motor vehicle crashes, 40% of fatal burn injuries, 50% of fatal drownings and homicides, and 65% of fatal falls.

Brain – Alcohol-related brain damage can involve the premature onset of dementia and dementia-like symptoms. On brain imaging scans of chronic alcoholics, this damage is evidenced by a visible shrinkage in brain volume and deteriorating fibers. Pancreas – Problem drinking can lead to pancreatitis, characterized by inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas.

It Can Affect Your Heart

It can change your personality, mental health, mannerisms and even your physical does alcohol make you look older appearance. Without question, there are countless advantages to sobriety.

Renewed by hydration and proper nutrient intake, your skin’s texture will improve and look healthy again. Joy Manning, a Philadelphia-based freelance writer and creator of the Instagram account Better Without Booze, can also attest to the life-changing effects of sobriety. She said she just celebrated her 600th day of not drinking. Although free radicals play their own role in protecting your health, when they’re not kept in balance by antioxidants, they begin to damage your fatty tissue, DNA and proteins. That damage can, in turn, contribute to diabetes, heart disease, neurodegenerative illnesses and other age-related conditions you want to avoid. As you grow older, you start to metabolize alcohol at a slower rate, according to Elizabeth Trattner, a Miami-based acupuncture physician and nutritionist.

Speak to an Alcohol Treatment Professional

Overall, alcohol and aging go hand in hand, harming your potential and depleting your motivation to exercise, be social, and be healthy. While growing older brings priceless wisdom and treasured memories, it can also change your appearance in unwelcome ways. Your skin is your body’s largest organ, and it will gradually get thinner and less resilient with age, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ causing sagging and fine lines. Genetics, sun damage and specific lifestyle choices such as drinking can accelerate the aging process. The risk of earlobe creases indicating aging was similarly 26%-36% higher among heavy drinkers than among light-to-moderate drinkers. The ways in whichalcohol can affect someoneinternally are widely known and documented.