After a few drinks, you may feel hyper and full of energy. If you have a little too much, the next day, your skin can look dull, puffy, and bloated.
But, what you may not realize is that heavy boozing can make you look and feel older. Of course, an occasional drink is not a big deal. But, excessive drinking, can affect your skin, organs, overall health, and mental well-being as you age.
Here is a quick look at the link between alcohol and aging.
Does Alcohol Cause Aging?
Alcohol and age go hand in hand in more ways than one. First, you must be of legal age to drink, and once you do, it can age you quicker than normal.
Chronic alcohol consumption can lead to exaggerated or premature aging. When you overindulge in alcohol, you can experience direct effects on different parts of your body as you age. You can also experience negative changes in your psychological health.
Excessive drinking can age the body by releasing stress hormones. It can stimulate cortisol secretion and lead to problems with emotional control, anger issues, poor judgment, and lack of concentration.
Unhealthy drinking habits can weaken vital organs and make them age faster. Moderate drinking could cause issues like fatty liver disease, whereas alcohol abuse can permanently damage the liver. It also hinders the work of the kidneys.
Plus, every alcoholic beverage goes straight to your brain. Reports show that alcoholics may have smaller brain sizes compared to moderate drinkers.
Another way alcohol can make you feel older is when it increases the odds of trips and falls. Abusing alcohol can make it difficult to control your body. When you are intoxicated, confusion and dizziness can lead to injury.
Excessive drinking can interfere with calcium balance. This is a key nutrient for healthy bones. Based on 2022 reports, drinking too much and too often can increase the odds of osteoporotic hip fracture.
But, one of the most obvious effects of alcohol aging appears on the skin.
What Does Drinking Do to Your Skin?
Many experts recommend that you cut back on drinking to protect your skin – and for a very good reason. Heavy boozing and binge drinking can put a strain on your skin. It can lead to skin redness, wrinkles, dry skin, dullness, and skin conditions.
According to studies, drinking alcohol can impair the skin’s antioxidant defense system. This system is essential for protecting the body against oxidative stress.
Alcohol can widen the blood vessels located in the peripheries (peripheral vasodilation). This can cause dilated capillaries on the face. Alcohol can also lead to uneven skin tone, puffiness under the eyes, and volume loss around the lips and midface – all of which can give the perception of older age.
For those who abuse alcohol, the flushing skin or redness is much easier to notice. This gives you a very unhealthy and uneven complexion. Alcohol abuse can present with hyperpigmentation, jaundice, rash, and itching.
Depending on how often you abuse alcohol, you may experience temporary or long-term changes to your skin.
Temporary Effects
Most of the effects of alcohol on the skin are temporary. They should subside after some rest. Here is how these effects can affect the skin.
Dehydration
Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning that it stimulates the body to pee more often. So, the more you drink, the quicker the body loses salt and water. This can lead to dehydration, which can affect your skin. It can cause:
- Dry lips
- Reduced skin elasticity
- Sunken eyes
- Dry skin
Flushing
Drinking promotes histamine release, which can make your complexion look inflamed or flushed. This is a highly prevalent adverse effect.
Disrupted Sleep
When drunk, you can fall asleep quicker and get up more often in the middle of the night. This can interrupt your sleeping schedule. Sleep deprivation can reflect on the skin and cause:
- More fine lines and wrinkles
- Dull skin complexion
- Pale skin
- Dark circles under the eyes
Depriving yourself of proper sleep can also age the body faster. Lack of sleep deteriorates the cells and makes you prone to age-related health issues.
Long-Term Effects
Some changes to your body and skin can turn into a persistent problem. Especially if you’ve been abusing alcohol for years. Heavy drinking increases the risk of skin cancer and skin infections.
Those who develop alcohol liver disease can experience long-term skin changes such as itchy skin, jaundice, dark skin around the eyes, or visible blood vessels on the chest, neck, and face. All of these effects can make a person look older.
Can Alcohol Aging Be Reversed?
Some people might be able to completely reverse some of the effects of alcohol-related aging. To counter the effects of alcohol and aging, it is important to quit drinking, work on your overall health, and revitalize the skin.
When you stop drinking, you give the body enough time to remove all the harmful substances from the system. Detox is a key process in filtering out the chemicals and giving the body a chance to recover. After the detox, you should focus on developing healthier lifestyle habits.
Such as eating healthy and nutritious foods, like whole foods, fruits, veggies, lean meat, etc. We suggest you stick to a well-balanced diet and incorporate some physical activity into your daily routine.
If you want your skin to look younger after you quit drinking, you can exfoliate the skin. To decrease extreme oiliness or skin dryness, moisturize the skin on a daily basis. You can also try massaging the skin to get the blood flowing.
Conclusion
Heavy drinking can have a profound effect on your overall health. It can make the body age prematurely, and make you feel and look older than you actually are. Many of the age-related effects of alcohol can be seen on the skin.
Drinking can lead to flushing, redness, dryness, wrinkles, and fine lines. Although most of the effects of alcohol on the skin are temporary, some can be long-term. So, if your drinking habits are hard to control, and you notice they cause you health problems, it is best to stop drinking and practice healthier lifestyle routines.
Talk to a certified health expert if you need help to quit drinking.