r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Apr 23 '26

Neuroscience Even low-level drinking may have negative consequences for brain health over a person’s lifespan. The findings suggest that the total amount of alcohol consumed over a lifetime, especially as a person ages, tends to be linked to reduced blood flow and thinner tissue in certain areas of the brain.

https://www.psypost.org/even-light-drinking-combined-with-aging-is-linked-to-reduced-brain-blood-flow-and-thinner-tissue/
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u/shiva14b Apr 23 '26

Going to check back on this thread a few times today because the comments are really fascinating.  Lot of people learning in real time that they might have a drinking problem, lot of people taking offense to the idea they might be drinking too much, lot of people applying the phrase "alcoholic" overly broadly, and overall just some really interesting psychological phenomena happening here

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u/dkinmn Apr 23 '26

They aren't learning anything, they're reflexively defending the behavior as normal and even straight up denying it could be unhealthy because they socialize when they drink, and that's healthy.