Even if you don’t drink alcohol, you should read this information. In one study, more than 50 percent of college students reported helping a drunken friend, classmate, or study partner in the previous year.
A number of surveys have confirmed that your peers aren’t drinking as much as you think they are, so there’s no need for you to try to “catch up.” Most students’ estimates of how much the average college student drinks are twice as high as the actual statistics.
How alcohol affects behavior depends on the dose of alcohol, which is best measured by blood alcohol content, or BAC (see Table 13.4). Most of the pleasurable effects of alcoholic beverages are experienced at lower BAC levels, when alcohol acts as a behavioral stimulant.
| BAC RANGE | EFFECTS ON BEHAVIOR AND MAJOR DANGERS |
| 0.02–0.03 | Few obvious effects; slight intensification of mood. In some states a BAC of 0.02 is the legal level of intoxication for individuals under age twenty-one. |
| 0.05–0.06 | Feeling of warmth, relaxation, mild sedation; exaggeration of emotion and behavior; slight decrease in reaction time and in fine muscle coordination; impaired judgment about continued drinking. |
| 0.07–0.09 | More noticeable speech impairment and disturbance of balance; impaired motor coordination, hearing, and vision; feeling of elation or depression; increased confidence; might not recognize impairment. |
| 0.08 | Legal definition of intoxication in all states and the District of Columbia for people twenty-one years of age and older. |
| 0.11–0.12 | Coordination and balance become difficult; distinct impairment of mental faculties and judgment. |
| 0.14–0.15 | Major impairment of mental and physical control; slurred speech, blurred vision, and lack of motor skills; needs medical evaluation. |
| 0.20 | Loss of motor control; must have assistance moving about; mental confusion; needs medical assistance. |
| 0.30 | Severe intoxication; minimum conscious control of mind and body; needs hospitalization. |
| 0.30–0.60 | This level of alcohol has been measured in people who have died of alcohol intoxication. |
| 0.40 | Unconsciousness; coma; needs hospitalization. |
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Source: Adapted from Brown University Health Education Web site, http://brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/alcohol,_tobacco,_&_other_drugs/alcohol/alcohol_&_your_body.php. |
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How quickly you drink makes a difference, too. Your body gets rid of alcohol at a rate of about one drink an hour. Drinking more than one drink an hour might cause a rise in BAC because the body is absorbing alcohol faster than it can eliminate it.
At BAC levels of 0.025 to 0.05, a drinker tends to feel animated and energized. At a BAC level of around 0.05, a drinker can feel rowdy or boisterous. This level is where most people report feeling a buzz from alcohol. At a BAC level between 0.05 and 0.08, alcohol starts to act as a depressant. So, as soon as you feel that buzz, remember that you are on the brink of losing coordination, clear thinking, and judgment. Driving is measurably impaired at BAC levels lower than the legal limit of 0.08. In fact, an accurate safe level for most people might be half the legal limit (0.04). As BAC levels climb past 0.08, you will become progressively less coordinated and less able to make good decisions. Most people become severely uncoordinated with BAC levels higher than 0.08 and might begin falling asleep, falling down, or slurring their speech.
Most people pass out or fall asleep when the BAC is above 0.25. Unfortunately, even after you pass out and stop drinking, your BAC can continue to rise as alcohol in your stomach is released to the intestine and absorbed into the bloodstream. Worse yet, at BAC levels higher than 0.30, most people will show signs of severe alcohol poisoning.
There are many home remedies (e.g. coffee, water, or cold showers) for helping sober someone up, but time is the only remedy because your liver can metabolize only 1 ounce of alcohol per hour.