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8 not-so-obvious ways alcohol is hurting your health

Feeling down, tired, or broke after having a few drinks? Here’s how alcohol can affect your quality of life, beyond raising the risk for chronic disease.

Updated on March 20, 2023

cheers with beer and wine
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Have you ever felt overly tired or a little flushed after having a few drinks? Have you spent more money than you intended, or done things you regret after a night out drinking with friends? Is your daily glass of wine interfering with your weight loss goals? If you can answer yes to any of these questions, you’re not alone.

Drinking can influence your health in manyShow More

sad woman on floor
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It can alter your mood and judgment

When you drink, the communication pathways in your brain are disrupted, which can affect your mood and behavior along with your coordination and judgment. Though having a glass of wine or a beer may make you feel relaxed, warm, and happy, as soon as you start drinking, your judgment is affected.Show More

paying the bartender
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It’s a financial drain

From wine to beer and everything in between, alcohol costs money. While prices vary from state to state, you can often pay $8 or $9 for a six-pack of light, domestic beer or at least $10 for a bottle of wine. If you’re ordering drinks at a restaurant or buying top shelf liquor, strong craft beers,Show More

woman weighing herself on scale
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It can lead to weight gain

Every day in the U.S., the typical adult ingests an average of nearly 100 calories from alcoholic beverages, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Some drinks, such as strawberry daiquiris, may be more obviously high in calories. But you may be surprised to learn that your Show More

alarm clock ringing
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You might lose sleep

Alcohol can make you feel drowsy, but it isn’t a sleep aid. Drinking can actually have the opposite effect, resulting in disrupted, poor-quality sleep.

If you have a drink or two before bedtime, it could interfere with your natural body clock or circadian rhythm. Interfering with your normal sleep-Show More

woman looking at complexion
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Your skin may suffer

Drinking could increase your risk of certain skin problems, such as rosacea—a condition that can cause flushing, breakouts, irritation, and swelling. Skin issues can arise if you drink alcohol, even if you haven’t had to cope with them before.

A large 2017 study published in the Journal of theShow More

traffic jam
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You’re more likely to get hurt (or hurt others)

Excessive alcohol use led to approximately 140,000 deaths each year between 2015 and 2019 shortening the lives of those who died by an average of 26 years. Excessive drinking is a leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. According to the CDC, one in five deaths among adults aged 20 to 49 isShow More

drinking at the bar
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You’re more likely to smoke

Smoking and drinking often go hand in hand, and the correlation between alcohol and nicotine use is not all that surprising, according to Roach. “Unhealthy behaviors like to covary,” Roach says. Simply put, drinking is a risk factor for smoking and smoking is a risk factor for drinking.

On the flipShow More

doctors looking at x-ray
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You may spend more time at the dentist

Alcohol can increase your risk for certain head and neck cancers, including forms of the disease that affect the mouth, throat, and voice box. The more you drink, the higher your risks. But drinking has other short-term consequences for your oral health.

One of the most immediate effects is dryShow More

friends laughing
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Rethinking your alcohol intake

Keep in mind: Alcohol’s health effects vary from one person to the next. The way it will affect you depends on some individual risk factors, including your DNA, lifestyle, age, health, and family medical history. It also depends on how much you drink. If you don’t drink already, it’s best not toShow More

Slideshow sources open slideshow sources

Brooks PJ, Enoch MA, et al. The alcohol flushing response: an unrecognized risk factor for esophageal cancer from alcohol consumption. PLoS Med. 2009 Mar 24;6(3):e50.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol and Public Health: Data on excessive drinking. Page last reviewed November 28, 2022.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol and Public Health: Deaths from excessive alcohol use in the United States. Page last reviewed July 6, 2022.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol and Public Health: Alcohol use and your health. Page last reviewed April 14, 2022.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Calories Consumed From Alcoholic Beverages by U.S. Adults, 2007-2010. Page last reviewed November 6, 2015.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Transportation Safety: Impaired driving. Page last reviewed December 28, 2022.
Falk DE, Yi HY, et al. An epidemiologic analysis of co-occurring alcohol and tobacco use and disorders: findings from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Alcohol Res Health. 2006;29(3):162-71. 
Lages EJ, Costa FO, et al. Alcohol consumption and periodontitis: quantification of periodontal pathogens and cytokines. J Periodontol. 2015 Sep;86(9):1058-68.
Li S, Cho E, et al. Alcohol intake and risk of rosacea in US women. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2017 Jun;76(6):1061-1067.e2.
MedlinePlus: Dry mouth. Page last reviewed May 3, 2021.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Drunk Driving. Accessed on February 24, 2023.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol medication interactions: potentially dangerous mixes. Page last revised May 6, 2022.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Rethinking Drinking. Strategies for cutting down: tips to try. Accessed on February 27, 2023.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Rethinking Drinking. Tools: Worksheets and more: handling urges to drink. Accessed on February 27, 2023.National Library of Medicine. 
National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus: Weight loss and alcohol. Page last reviewed June 22, 2022.
Nayak MB, Patterson D, Wilsnack SC, et al. Alcohol's secondhand harms in the United States: new data on prevalence and risk factors. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2019 May;80(3):273-281.
NIH: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol’s Effects on the Body. Accessed March 20, 2023.
NIH: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Genetics of Alcohol Use Disorder. Accessed March 20, 2023.
Priyanka K, Sudhir KM, et al. Impact of alcohol dependency on oral health - a cross-sectional comparative study. J Clin Diagn Res. 2017 Jun;11(6):ZC43-ZC46.
Sawada Y, Saito-Sasaki N, et al. Daily lifestyle and inflammatory skin diseases. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 May 14;22(10):5204. 
Sleep Foundation. Nutrition and Sleep: Alcohol and sleep. Page last reviewed February 8, 2023.
National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus: Alcohol use and safe drinking. Page last reviewed April 30, 2022.
Tkacz K, Gill J, McLernon M. Necrotising periodontal diseases and alcohol misuse - a cause of osteonecrosis?. BDJ Team 8, 30–37 (2021).

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