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What you should know about Alcohol
This page explains how alcohol can affect your body and share tips for having a safer night out. Young people helped create this page, working alongside the Unity service. Therefore, the stories featured relate specifically to Norfolk.
⚠️ Dangers of Mixing⚠️
Combining alcohol with other drugs can worsen their harmful effects and increase the risk of overdose. When mixed with other substances it will affect your judgement, leading to risk taking and can cause harm to your developing brain and body.
Alcohol and the Brain
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Alcohol is a depressant - not because it can make you cry, but because it slows your brain down. Messages between your brain and body start travelling in slow motion. That’s why your balance, coordination, and general “acting normal” skills can be affected. Alcohol reaches your brain in about 5–10 minutes after your first sip and can make you feel relaxed or euphoric at first (due to dopamine release) but if you drink too much, or too often it can also affect your mood and behaviour, causing depression, anxiety, or aggression.
Memory (Hippocampus)
It also interferes with the hippocampus, the brain’s memory centre. That’s what causes blackouts or difficulty remembering things after drinking.
Decision Making
(Frontal Lobe)
The first part of your brain alcohol hits is the frontal lobe (the decision-making part of your brain), that’s why you might feel extra confident and chatty. Basically, alcohol makes risky choices feel easier.
Movement and Balance (Cerebellum)
Alcohol affects the Cerebellum, which controls movement, balance, and coordination. This is why people may stumble on or slur their words.
Brainstem (breathing and heartrate)
The brainstem controls vital functions like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, swallowing and consciousness. If you drink too much, your brain can slow so much that it forgets to tell your body to breathe, and your gag reflex can stop working so if you vomit, you can’t cough or clear your airway. This is like drowning in your own vomit, which is why alcohol poisoning is so dangerous.
Hover over the boxes below to see more details.
Impact on the Teenage Brain
The brain continues to develop into a person's mid-20s, with a critical period occurring during adolescence (a period of rapid brain development). Alcohol is a neurotoxin that can interfere with this process and alter the way the brain is wired, potentially causing long-lasting changes in brain structure and function: Alcohol can interfere with the development of the frontal lobe, which is crucial for impulse control, planning, and judgement.
GABA
When you drink alcohol, it increases the activity of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) a neurotransmitter that slows down brain activity. This can depress your brainstem - that’s the bit in charge of keeping you alive by keeping your heart beating and your lungs breathing without you having to think about it! Alcohol doesn’t create GABA; it just makes its effects stronger, like turning up your brain’s “relax mode.” When this happens, your thinking, movement, and reflexes slow down.
Risks of using Alcohol
Hover over the photos below, to see the risks of Alcohol.
Physical
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Raises heart rate and blood pressure, straining the heart.
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Weakens memory, immunity, and nutrient absorption, increasing illness risk.
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Disrupts deep and REM sleep, causing fatigue and poor concentration.
Agitation
Feeling Disconnected or Psychotic Symptoms
Low Mood or Depression
Panic Attacks
Memory Problems
Social
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Lowers inhibitions and impairs judgment, causing arguments, misunderstandings, or risky behaviour.
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Long-term heavy drinking can damage health and strain relationships.
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Frequent drinking can cause mood swings, anxiety, and irritability.
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Can worsen depression and anxiety and may create a cycle of emotional dependence.
Emotional
Safer Night Out - Stay Safe Tips For You and Your Mates
Planning a night out? Here are some helpful tips to help you stay safe and enjoy yourself. Press the arrow on the slideshow to see information for before, during, and after your night out.
Before a Night Out
Set a limit.
Excessive drinking harms your health, relationships, and sexual safety. It can also lead to poor decisions, aggression, and memory loss. Setting a limit helps you stay in control.
Keeping within your limit reduces the chance of injuries and dangerous situations caused by intoxication.
Stay hydrated.
Alcohol is a diuretic - it makes your body lose water through increased urination. This leads to dehydration, which causes thirst, headaches, and hangovers.
Charge your phone before heading out, and bring a portable charger if you can.
In case you need to call anyone in an emergency or to get a lift home
Eat a proper meal.
Eating foods rich in protein, fat, and carbohydrates slows the absorption of alcohol, reducing how quickly you get drunk. This helps prevent a sudden spike in blood alcohol levels and protects the stomach lining from irritation.
Sort your journey home in advance.
Whether it’s public transport, a trusted taxi, or a designated sober driver.
Young People's Stories
Watch young people from our Unity service share their real stories and perspectives on alcohol - honest and straight from their experience.
Alcohol Webpage Video
Video
Prefer watching instead of reading? Check out this short video about Alcohol to see how it affects people and get the facts you need.
Alcohol - Respect Your Brain
About
The Matthew Project
If you’re under 19 and using ketamine or other substances, our Unity service is here to support you. You won’t get in trouble for reaching out. Click the button below to learn more about the Unity service.
If you are 19 or over, you will need to contact Change Grow Live.
