There is a lot of partying and drinking on New Year’s Eve. But what actually happens in the body during a night of drinking and afterwards? A lot, as a neurologist explains.
During a night of drinking on New Year’s Eve, for example, complex processes take place in the human body. Alcohol causes the brain to figuratively press the accelerator and brake pedals at the same time, causing delicate processes to become out of sync, as Martin Morgenthaler, senior physician in the Department of Neurology at the Westpfalz Clinic in Kaiserslautern, explains. All of this happens shortly after the first sip of champagne, wine, beer or schnapps.
Alcohol reaches the brain just six minutes after ingestion. The cells there are surrounded by a shell in which many transport functions take place, which in turn determine the activity state of the cell. Alcohol has a depressant effect in most brain regions, explained Morgenthaler. There is an increase in chloride ions, which has a slowing effect on cell processes – “especially on the transmission of stimuli, i.e. communication between cells.”
“The reaction decreases, I get dizzy, my eyesight decreases, I can no longer correctly assess situations,” said Morgenthaler. Alcohol also affects the energy supply to the cells. The processes of the mitochondria, the power plants of the cells, would be slowed down. This effect is even stronger when alcohol is consumed together with nicotine.
Extreme case of film tear
The extreme of such a reduction in stimuli is the proverbial film tear. Then the transfer from short-term to long-term memory no longer works. The work of the synapses, the connections between nerve cells, is slowed down in the hippocampus, a part of the brain that functions like a kind of buffer. “So from a medical point of view, the film tear is an amnesia for things that I’m currently experiencing,” explained Morgenthaler.
There are fragmentary tears in the film if “memory islands” remain. “I can still remember certain points, but there are gaps in between,” he said. If the film is completely ripped, an evening or a night is completely gone. “The likelihood of this increases the faster and the more alcohol I consume.” And it becomes even greater if different alcoholic drinks are drunk together or alcohol is combined with drugs.
Danger of dependence
Alcohol has an activating effect in a few areas of the brain. “That’s why we have this euphoric effect and are a little more disinhibited because messenger substances such as endorphins, dopamine and serotonin are released,” said Morgenthaler. A state of intoxication can arise that you want to have again and again, which can lead to addiction. “We have that with binge drinking or binge drinking.”
The interplay of primarily depressant, but occasionally also activating effects of alcohol mess up a lot in the brain, said Morgenthaler. “It’s basically like stepping on the accelerator and brake at the same time. The whole balance that has to exist is completely messed up.”
Why the skull is buzzing
According to the doctor, there are a number of reasons why your head is often buzzing the next day. On the one hand, acetaldehyde is formed when alcohol is broken down. This affects the metabolism in the brain, where cytokines – the body’s own messenger substances – are changed and free oxygen radicals are formed, which causes headaches. In addition, every alcoholic drink contains methanol. When it breaks down, formaldehyde and acetic acid are produced, which also cause hangover feelings.
“A second point is drainage,” said Morgenthaler. Alcohol, like coffee, makes you go to the toilet more often. “Alcohol inhibits the production of the hormone vasopressin. This actually ensures that water stays in the body. If production is inhibited, I simply excrete more.” This causes the body to lose minerals. It is advisable to follow every glass of alcohol with a glass of water. “This also protects against esophageal cancer because it flushes the alcohol out of the esophagus a bit.”
Sleep worse
Restless sleep is typical after a night of drinking. Alcohol initially promotes sleep. “That’s why many people drink in the evening, then the rumination stops a bit and you get to sleep well,” said the neurologist. “But that happens at night.” The toxins created when alcohol is broken down cause you to wake up again and again and you have to go to the toilet more. “Many also feel thirsty, wake up and have a very fractional sleep.”
Alcohol also affects deep sleep, which then no longer covers all brain regions. The frontal lobe in the brain remains active even during sleep after alcohol consumption, which affects the so-called REM sleep phase. REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement, i.e. the rapid eye movements that accompany this phase. In connection with a still active frontal lobe, you tend to have negative dreams, and the following day you often feel exhausted and exhausted.