If you are a man who takes the state of your physical fitness seriously and also enjoys the night life, then this one is for you.

It is 10 a.m. on a Saturday.  Grudgingly, I roll out of bed, chug a cup of morning joe and bump some Gucci as I mentally prepare myself for the morning workout ahead of me.  Fast-forward to 12:30 p.m. I am at Archbold Gymnasium doing my third set of squats, and pushing through the last muscle-trembling rep as my gym partner coaches me through it.

“Come on, you got this, you are not a b*tch.” My gym partner unleashes a disturbing amount of profanity, pushing me through the last rep. And then everything went black.

I wake up moments later, with green and black recreational services T-shirts surrounding me. The workers stare at me with bewilderment.  I look to my right, and there is a puddle of my own puke. Apparently, I dropped the weight, puked and passed out all in the span of two minutes.

I jump up instantly in an effort to conceal my embarrassment, however, I too am in complete awe. What caused me to become the person with possibly the most epic fail in the history of Archbold?  Was it the heat? Was the weight too heavy? Did my gym partner’s onslaught of profanity release some inner monster inside of me? Upon a visit to the university’s health services, I found out I was dehydrated. I refuted this analysis, as I know that on average, I consume about a gallon of water a day.

However, upon further investigation I learned that a gallon of water a day still cannot undo one night of play. I spent the night before celebrating my friend’s birthday.  Together my friend and I consumed an unknown quantity of Hennessey, vodka and tequila. It was my first night of debauchery since the semester started, and it was enough to dehydrate me to the point of losing consciousness, and that night of binge drinking had further unintended consequences on my body.

After further investigation into this phenomenon, I learned what one night of binge drinking really does to the body. First, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, binge drinking is defined as “drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration to 0.08g/dL or above.” Surprisingly, this is only about five drinks for adult men and four for women in a two-hour timespan.

For men, sporadic consumption of large amounts of alcohol can be very detrimental to the mind and body. First are the immediate effects that binge drinking has on the mind.  Alcohol impairs one’s judgment and decision-making abilities, which explains why men have a higher rate of alcohol-related deaths and hospitalizations than women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Furthermore, binge drinking increases the likelihood of men getting into fights, having risky sexual encounters and committing suicide. Binge drinking also increases the likelihood for men to develop alcoholism.  While it does not inherently cause alcoholism, binge drinking is more frequent in men, which may explain why men are twice as likely to become alcohol-dependent than women, the CDC says.

Short-term, regular acts of binge drinking have been linked to decreased testosterone in men, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. For a young college male like myself, this decrease in testosterone means decreased performance and results in the gym, as well as decreased performance and results in the sheets.

Binge drinking can also increase the rate at which men store fat and burn muscle. While a shot of vodka may be low in calories, once consumed, it releases stress hormones in your body that deteriorate muscle and block fat oxidation, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. The blocking of fat oxidation accelerates how your body stores dietary fat; this is why one can devour an entire large pizza with extra cheese if they are intoxicated.

Binge drinking, as my incident demonstrated, can also cause dehydration.  Alcohol decreases the body’s production of anti-diuretic hormone, which is used by the body to reabsorb water, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Vomiting while intoxicated also depletes the body of essential nutrients and liquids.  Dehydration can lead to many life-threatening scenarios, such as dropping a weight on your spine and passing out in your own puke.

According to a report from the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, long-term effects of binge drinking on the body includes increased risk for developing cancer in the colon, mouth, esophagus and throat. Long-term mental issues include mild depression and neuroses.

While this may sound like an advertisement against drinking, I assure you that I am not trying to ruin your Saturday nights.  Studies have shown that moderate consumption of alcohol can actually be beneficial for men. In small quantities, meaning one to two drinks per day, alcohol consumption has been linked to improved insulin sensitivity, cardiac function and blood lipids — which reduce your risk for heart disease — and decreased stress, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

It all comes down to one key word: moderation. Hoarding a week’s worth of alcohol and consuming it in one night is not equivalent to spreading it out to one to two drinks per day. Moderate your consumption throughout the week, limiting yourself to one to two drinks per day, and avoid binge drinking.

If you do intend to binge drink, span your drinks out over the course of the night; consuming 1-2 cups of water between each drink. This will both decrease the effects of binge drinking, as well as prevent hangovers and dehydration the following day. Finally, remember to always put your phone away before you start drinking to avoid posting embarrassing content of yourself while intoxicated. I know all too well about that.

 

 

Published on September 7, 2016 at 10:36 pm