Alcohol Consumption Changes the Aging Clock < Yale School of Medicine

You may not realize it, but alcohol and aging effects go hand-in-hand. In addition, alcohol misuse or alcohol use disorder can strain relationships does alcohol make you look older with family members, friends, and others. At the extreme, heavy drinking can contribute to domestic violence and child abuse or neglect.

From time to time, most people enjoy an alcoholic beverage. However, alcohol abuse is known to bring negative health effects. For example, it can lead to liver damage, cancer, immune disorders, and brain damage. Also, it may worsen pre-existing https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/how-to-rebuild-your-life-after-addiction-how-to-regain-trust/ conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. Besides a person’s health, drinking alcohol can have other negative effects on his or her body. Here is a closer look at how a person’s looks suffer from excessive alcohol consumption.

What are signs of alcohol misuse or alcohol use disorder?

Research shows that people who drink heavily have a 33 percent greater chance of getting arcus senilis, a telltale gray ring around their corneas before they turn 60. Normally, the body creates a hormone called vasopressin, which helps your body retain water, limiting the amount of fluid that you excrete through the renal system. This helps prevent you from becoming dehydrated when you’re not drinking.

Drinking too much at one time or on any given day, or having too many drinks over the course of a week, increases the risk of harmful consequences, including injuries and health problems. People who consistently misuse alcohol over time are also at greater risk of developing alcohol use disorder. Heavy alcohol consumption not only causes visible changes to our body that make us look older — it actually accelerates our aging at a cellular level. This puts us at an even greater risk for prematurely developing cancer or disease. We might not notice the effects right away, but underneath the surface, alcohol damages the many bodily systems and functions that are vital for living well into old age. Besides physical appearance, most individuals are conscious about the way that they smell.

What Are The Invisible Effects Of Aging Caused By Alcohol Use?

Zinnia Health understands how challenging it can be to stop drinking. We also know that it’s vital to seek specialized help for alcohol addiction, which can make you look older and cause a myriad of physical and mental health problems. It is common knowledge that drinking alcohol slows down your reaction time. This can put you at a higher risk of falling and breaking or fracturing bones.

The idea of having a drink to relax before bedtime may not be a good one, especially as you get older. Instead of lulling you into a restful night, alcohol can actually keep you from getting to sleep and lead to restless slumber. That can be particularly hard on seniors, who are already more likely to wake up often or have a sleep disorder like insomnia. People who drink may notice that they’re “feeling no pain” sooner as they get older. That’s mainly because our bodies gain fat and lose muscle in our senior years and it takes longer for us to break down alcohol and get it out of our system. Our programs are flexible and customized to target your specific needs.

Other Aspects of the Alcohol and Aging Dilemma

It can also lead to men carrying their weight around their hips and thighs instead of their bellies. This is a negative thing because men are supposed to carry more weight in their bellies while women are supposed to carry more weight around their hips and thighs. The answer is not so straightforward, based on a recently published study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine. If you do decide to drink, professionals recommend that people over 65 shouldn’t take more than one standard drink each day and no more than 7 each week. Of course, this amount may vary depending on your own health and body type.

• Drinking alcohol can also aggravate co-occurring health conditions in older adults.
• When skin is damaged from the sun, scars or areas of the skin appear more blotchy; then a deep peel could benefit you.
• Excessive alcohol consumption can even cause us to look older.
• Regular drinkers can trigger biological functions that make them age from the inside out.