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Negative Effects of Alcohol Use by College Students

College students may drink alcohol for different reasons. A desire to fit in on campus can pressure students into drinking. A lack of parental control can make it easier for college students to partake in behavior that their parents prohibited. Drinking alcohol can lead to many serious consequences for college students.

  1. Loss of Inhibition

    • The more alcohol you intake, the more likely it will be that you will lose your inhibitions. According to the Higher Education Center, it only takes four to five drinks in two hours to reach a blood alcohol level of 0.08. By the time you reach that blood alcohol content level, you may become physically and mentally impaired. Excessive drinking can result in memory loss and blackouts, and you might engage in risk-taking behaviors that include having unprotected sex.

    Alcohol Poisoning

    • Severe alcohol poisoning contributes to brain damage and possible death. Drinking in high doses can impair your body's nerve control. As a result, breathing and the loss of your gag reflex occurs. The liver digests alcohol slowly. The more alcohol you consume, the quicker alcohol levels rise. Even when you pass out, your blood alcohol content levels will continue to circulate through your bloodstream while increasing, indicates College Drinking Prevention.

    Sleep Deprivation

    • Alcohol may potentially affect the quality of your sleep, indicates the U.C. San Diego Athletic Performance Nutrition Board. When you sleep, you pass through phases such as rapid eye movement sleep and slow wave sleep, or deep sleep. To sleep peacefully, these phases of sleep can't be interrupted. However, when you drink, alcohol can disrupt your sleep, resulting in insomnia and nightmares.

    Drunk Driving

    • "Drunk driving involves youth more than any other age group," states the University of Alaska Southeast. According to a January 2006 report by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, youth under 21 account for 1,900 deaths a year due to alcohol-related car crashes. When you drink, your reaction response slows down. You may have difficulty stopping your car when necessary or swerving around an obstacle. As a result, this can cause an accident.

    Other Effects

    • Misuse of alcohol can contribute to missing classes, resulting in failing grades. Unwanted pregnancies, fighting, arrests and missing out an athletic performances can occur through excessive alcohol consumption. Other negative effects include the nausea, vomiting and hangovers associated with drinking. Crimes against women on college campuses may occur due to alcohol abuse. "College students between 18 to 24 account for more than 70,000 sexual assaults a year, with 50 percent of the assaults including alcohol," states the University of Alaska Southeast. The university notes that alcohol consumption leading to sexual assault can be caused by altered states, leading to aggressive tendencies or misunderstood intentions.

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