When You Drink Alcohol, Judgment is the First to Go

What is Judgment?

Judgment is our ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions.

Alcohol is known for its immediate effects on the body and mind, with judgment being one of the first to be affected.

Why Judgment is Affected

Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows down the functioning of the central nervous system. It alters the communication pathways in the brain, affecting how the brain processes information.

This effect is particularly pronounced in the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making, judgment, and impulse control. When alcohol affects this part of the brain, an individual’s ability to make rational, considered decisions is significantly impaired.

It Takes Alcohol 30 minutes to Reach Your Brain

When alcohol enters your blood, it takes about 15 – 30 minutes for it to reach the brain.

Remember, it doesn’t take much—even small amounts of alcohol reach your brain and can cloud your judgment.

Affection Your Inhibitions

One of the first noticeable effects of alcohol is a reduction in inhibitions. It happens because alcohol dampens the activities in the frontal lobe of the brain.

As inhibitions lower, people are more likely to make impulsive decisions without fully considering the consequences. It often leads to behavior that can be out of character, such as taking risks or engaging in activities that one would generally avoid when sober.

Alcohol often creates a false sense of confidence, leading to overestimating one’s abilities and underestimation of the challenges or risks in a given situation.

Being overconfident can result in poor judgment calls.

Impaired Cognitive Abilities

Alcohol impairs various cognitive functions, including memory, attention, and reasoning.

These abilities are crucial for sound judgment and safe driving.

As alcohol concentration increases in the bloodstream, these cognitive functions are increasingly affected, leading to poor judgment. For instance, a person might underestimate the risks associated with certain behaviors or overestimate their abilities, such as thinking they can safely drive a vehicle when they can’t.

Altered Perception

After a few drinks, your ability to see and hear is also impaired.

Your peripheral vision fades, resulting in tunnel vision. Your depth perception degrades.

Altered perception can lead to misjudgment of distances, speeds, and the reactions of others, further impairing judgment.

For example, a person under the influence of alcohol might not accurately judge the distance of an oncoming car, leading to dangerous situations.

When you drive at night, you will find that the glare from oncoming headlights troubles you more than usual. This glare can make you temporarily blind and may take a few seconds before your eyes adapt.

Alcohol relaxes eye muscles and slows down the reactions of the pupils, which becomes more apparent the older you get.

Altered Concentration

Your Motor Skills are Affected

Your ability to coordinate motor skills is affected. The loss of coordination also affects your ability to react. You react slower. Your reaction time can be slowed down by 25-50%.

This affects your stopping distance in case of an emergency and can result in crashes and accidents, which you could have avoided without alcohol in your system.

Summary of Alcohol Effects

Remember, among many other things, alcohol affects:

• Judgment
• Vision
• Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Concentration
• Reaction time
• Coordination

Learn more

• Only Time Will Sober You Up
• What Helps You Sober Up?
• What is a Standard Drink?
• DUI Conviction if BAC is Below the Legal Limit?
• What is Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) – How Does it Work?
• How Alcohol Can Impair Judgement and Lead to Risky Sexual Behavior

Take the Practice Test for Your State

Brain in a glass – illustration by norebbo.
Women with glasses in their hands – Photo by Inga Seliverstova.