Binging Harms Memory of Teens
Researchers have been investigating the effects of binge drinking on young adults for quite some time. Studies show that young minds may be more susceptible to damage caused by excessive drinking, especially binge drinking. This is because the adolescent brain is still changing and developing and new nerve connections are still being formed.
Data cited in the government publication, Prevention Alert, showed that teens struggling with alcoholism scored lower on short-term memory tests than those who weren’t dependent. The findings from another study with a similar outcome were presented at the British Psychological Society conference in 2008. Researchers at the University of Northumbria in the UK examined students aged 17 to 19 to determine the effects of binge alcohol drinking on the brains of young adults. What they found was that binging did impact the memory of these teenage college students at a very basic level.
Teens didn’t seem to notice the difference, but tests showed that their memory skills were compromised. The group had a hard time remembering prospective future tasks such as calling a family member or friend or what they were supposed to pick up from the grocery store. The effects of binge drinking on past memories have been documented, but the new study shows that the impact may be more prominent in teens. Lead researcher, Dr. Thomas Heffernan suggests that the damage might even be permanent and cause further problems in the future.
Results from a Spanish study released earlier this week also showed a possible link between binge drinking and memory. Of the college students aged 18 to 20 who participated in the study, those who claimed to binge drink had a harder time remembering lists of words. The implication of study is that partying on the weekend could impact grades received on exams taken throughout the next week. Interestingly, alcohol didn’t seem to impact the teens ability to remember details from images they were shown.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) calls binge drinking a common practice within the U.S. It defines binge drinking as when a male consumes 5 or more alcoholic beverages or when a female consumes 4 or more alcoholic beverages within a period of two hours. It cites that 51 percent of 18 to 20-year olds binge drink, which represent the highest proportion of current drinkers who binge. It also reports that approximately 90 percent of alcohol ingested by underage drinkers is in the form of binge drinks.
Dr. Heffernan says that to curb teen binge drinking, we have to be vigilant and aggressive in order to cut off the supply of underage alcohol. In addition to memory loss, binge drinking is associated with car crashes and other accidental injuries, alcohol poisoning and higher risk of teen pregnancy and contracting an STD. The CDC says there are ways to curb binge drinking such as increasing taxes on alcohol, restricting the number places selling alcohol within any given area, stricter enforcement of laws against minors in possession and those caught driving under the influence, and proper screening and counseling for individuals thought to be abusing alcohol.
