In fact, there are some common drinking habits that can cause our noggin to age faster than it should. From drinking too much alcohol and skipping water to choosing sugar-rich beverages, here are drinking habits that can age your brain faster.
Researchers at the University of Southern California looked at more than 17,000 brain scans to see if daily smoking and drinking advanced brain age. The study found that every gram of alcohol consumed a day aged the brain by 11 days. Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for a year aged the brain by 11 days.
An increase from 10 units to 32 units per week was associated with the equivalent of 3 years of aging. However, the association between genetically-predicted alcohol consumption and telomere length was only significant for those drinking more than 17 units per week.
If you look at a woman who has been drinking for 20 or 30 years, and a woman the same age who hasn't at all, we see a massive difference in the skin—more wrinkles from that dehydration damage, which can make you look 10 years older.”
When you drink, the dehydrating (or 'diuretic') effect of alcohol means your skin loses fluid and nutrients that are vital for healthy-looking skin. This can make your skin look wrinkled, dull and grey, or bloated and puffy. Dehydrated skin may also be more prone to some types of eczema.
Alcohol reduces collagen and elastin production, leaving the skin duller, wrinkled, and aged beyond one's years. Beer, wine, and liquor also increase inflammation and disrupt lipid production. As a result, the skin may look dry and wrinkled, similar to sun damage.
Regularly drinking enough water can help reverse aging on both the inside and the outside of your body.
If a person regularly drinks too much alcohol it can be toxic to their nerve cells. Over time, drinking too much alcohol can cause brain cells to die and a person's brain tissue to shrink. This means there are fewer cells to carry the messages that the brain needs to do different tasks.
For men, binge drinking is 5 or more drinks consumed on one occasion. Underage drinking: Any alcohol use by those under age 21. Heavy drinking: For women, heavy drinking is 8 drinks or more per week. For men, heavy drinking is 15 drinks or more per week.
Alcohol interferes with the brain's communication pathways and can affect the way the brain looks and works. Alcohol makes it harder for the brain areas controlling balance, memory, speech, and judgment to do their jobs, resulting in a higher likelihood of injuries and other negative outcomes.
Adults who aren't sufficiently hydrated may age faster, face a higher risk of chronic diseases and be more likely to die younger than those who stay well-hydrated, according to a new study from the National Institutes of Health.
Binge drinking is most common among younger adults aged 18–34. Binge drinking is more common among men than among women.
These side effects can have a lasting impact, lead to more wrinkles, and speed up your skin's aging process. Fortunately, your skin can bounce back from the effects of alcohol. By giving your body a month-long break from drinking, you're allowing your skin to rehydrate and regenerate.
Alcohol can affect the way some vital organs work and make them age faster. While heavy drinkers are more likely to have cirrhosis (permanent damage to your liver), even moderate drinking can lead to problems like fatty liver disease. It also can make it harder for your kidneys to do their thing.
Although positive changes may appear earlier, 3 months of not drinking can not only improve your mood, energy, sleep, weight, skin health, immune health, and heart health. It can even reduce your risk of cancer.
Drinking too much alcohol over a long time can: Lead to some kinds of cancer, liver damage, immune system disorders, and brain damage. Worsen some health conditions such as osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, ulcers, memory loss, and mood disorders.
BENEFITS: Less inflammation, better sleep, reduced anxiety, improved mood & energy, healthier-looking skin, potential weight loss.
The characteristics of Wine Face, as told to Cosmopolitan, are 'pronounced lines or redness between the eyes, droopy eyelids, enlarged pores, dehydrated skin with feathery lines across cheeks, reddish cheeks and nose, deep nasolabial folds'.
Generally, symptoms of alcoholic liver disease include abdominal pain and tenderness, dry mouth and increased thirst, fatigue, jaundice (which is yellowing of the skin), loss of appetite, and nausea. Your skin may look abnormally dark or light. Your feet or hands may look red.
Alcohol causes your body and skin to lose fluid (dehydrate). Dry skin wrinkles more quickly and can look dull and grey. Alcohol's diuretic (water-loss) effect also causes you to lose vitamins and nutrients. For example, vitamin A.