Drinking alcohol can be stress reliever after a hard day’s work, but for others, having a drink or two isn’t enough. If you are one of those who have to grab a drink every evening, do you know how much you are actually consuming? And have you noticed any difference in your general performance at work or have you experienced any lapses in memory? Here are ten things that you might want to know about alcohol and these are based on the latest medical research reports.

1. Alcohol drinking reduces sleep quality. A recent controlled trial showed that alcohol results in poor sleep quality, also known as insomnia. This generally results in tossing and turning for hours each night, and eventually catching sleep only during the early morning hours.

2. Alcohol consumption increases the risk for diseases. Alcohol drinking often results in insomnia, which decreases the number of hours of quality sleep and reduces the body’s chance to recharge or recuperate from the activities performed in the past days. Insomnia also reduces the chance for the body to produce essential hormones that are important in fighting infection, thus making you prone to illness.

3. Alcohol can affect short- and long-term memory. During sleep, the brain is allowed to process information gained from the past days. When insomnia due to alcohol consumption sets in, the brain is not given enough time to classify and retain information gathered during the day and thus will result in a loss of memory. In more severe cases of alcohol dependence, the person can suffer from a deterioration of mental health, thus affected even long-term memory.

4. Drinking alcohol results in poor physical health. Alcohol can affect various systems of the body, often resulting in a lower quality of general health. Aside from the risk of frequent sickness, alcohol drinkers suffering from insomnia often lose the strength and stamina to perform the regular tasks.

5. Alcohol results in a lower performance at work. The combination of excessive alcohol drinking and insomnia often results in loss of memory, which can also affect a person’s performance at work. Missing appointments and forgetting names of clients can affect the total quality of work. Loss of memory can also be in the form of forgetting how to perform a regular task at work and this can be quite frustrating not only to the alcohol drinker but to co-workers, too.

6. People who frequently drink alcohol have a higher risk of suffering from mental health disorders. Alcohol drinkers have been reported to suffer from psychological issues, showing that the mental health condition of these people has deteriorated. These individuals tend to get upset easily, often showing anger outbursts at work and at home.

7. Alcohol induces behavioral problems. Drinking alcohol also results in a change in a person’s behavior, especially when one’s memory and mental health have been affected. In turn, an alcohol drinker’s behavior will change in response to these mental health developments. Family members can also be affected by this change in mental health.

8. Excessive alcohol intake increases the risk for accidents. Since excessive alcohol results in an affected memory, insomnia, and poor general mental health, an individual will suffer from poor coordination in driving or operating machines, thus making it more likely that accidents and death to occur. Poor memory can result in pressing the wrong pedal while driving or forgetting to stop a machine when one is about to get hurt.

9. Alcohol can induce mental distress. Excessive alcohol drinking not only results in a loss of memory and sleep but also induces an individual to experience high levels of anxiety. The mental health condition of an alcohol drinker has definitely changed and this often results in a decrease in self-esteem, making the person feel less capable and deserving of good things in life. Challenging tasks will now seem to be impossible to perform, making the person feel that he or she is worthless and unimportant.

10. Drinking too much alcohol can make a person become delusional. Have you talked to a person who just had too much to drink? This person often brags about his or her capabilities, often to the extent of being delusional. This change in mental health can be destructive, especially when the person attempts to show his or her claim of grandeur while under the influence of alcohol. Excessive drinking changes one’s general mental health condition because it desensitizes the nerves and thus makes the drinker feel that nothing can harm him or her.

So before you take the next glass of your favorite drink tonight, remember that excessive alcohol drinking affects mental health. It will not be surprising if you are currently suffering from insomnia and never realized that there was a connection between insomnia and alcohol. We usually don’t give much importance to sleep but once insomnia sets in, it is best to reduce the amount of alcohol we consume each day.

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