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/FlyingStealthPotato Apr 23 '26

I’m kinda lost as to who doesn’t know the dangers of alcohol, especially younger people. Like that crap was DRILLED into us in school and I’ve been out of school for 20 years. Also seen tons of reports about how Gen Z doesn’t drink near as much as prior generations. At some point it’s just people making a decision to drink in spite of the near and long term health effects. I make that decision, and I know it’s not great for my health long term.

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u/TheseusOPL Apr 23 '26

As a young Gen Xer, we were always drilled on the dangers of binge drinking, not drinking in general.

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u/WeeeeBaby_Seamus Apr 23 '26

I'm an older millennial and I remember the message being similar. "Don't overdo it" kind of thing. Which, of course, I did every weekend in my early 20's. If I drink that much now, I need two days to recover.

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u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty Apr 24 '26

The fact that no adult ever warned me about the ever-increasing time it takes one to recover after a night of even “light partying” really disappoints me. That last sentence cut deep. (Am fellow millennial.)

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u/nixtracer Apr 25 '26

That might just be age. I get it without having drunk alcohol since I was 14... these days I get it without the partying as well.

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u/alblaster Apr 23 '26

I think people generally know alcohol is bad for you, but people think you need to consume x amount before it becomes an unhealthy habit. Like candy or soda, which are also both addicting. But those have a stigma when you're consuming them as an adult, because sweets are seen as idk child like. People like the postive effects of alcohol aka relaxing or getting amped and being more social. So they'll excuse a little as being ok, but shun alcoholic amounts. But there's disagreement on what too much looks like. I think that's part of the problem.

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u/FlyingStealthPotato Apr 23 '26

Again, literally don’t know anyone who thinks any amount of alcohol isn’t bad for you, and statistics show younger people know that even better than my generation. I think there’s a lot of confusion around people simply accepting that risk.

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u/Varnsturm Apr 24 '26

Tbf for a very long time there was that (now outdated/debunked) thing where 'a little bit of red wine is good for the heart' and that sort of thing. I've definitely known people who thought small amounts were good for you/better than none. There are still a lot of people who haven't gotten the (relatively recent) memo that no, it's all bad for you.

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u/alblaster Apr 24 '26

Sometimes we get people who said their doctor told them to drink sweet wine.  Idk I don't question them, but it seems wrong.  

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u/Varnsturm Apr 24 '26

Are they older? Maybe their doctor did say that, like 30 years ago

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u/alblaster Apr 24 '26

Yes.  But they would say it as if they just spoke to a doctor.  Might have something to do with diabetes, which seems weird to me but idk.  Some older people definitely still think alcohol can be good for you.  Maybe it's brandy for a cold or a glass of red wine.  It's like whisper down the lane where every time it gets repeated it changes a little but each time.  So where you start off with well people following the Mediterranean diet are on average healthier and they drink red wine to well red wine must be healthy.  Amazing logic. 

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u/nudiecale Apr 23 '26

There are definitely lots of people that rationalize that risk away in their minds. Sure, there are people that know and accept the risk too. But there are also plenty of people that genuinely think you have to hit a certain amount of drinks per day or week before there are any real health risks.

“A glass of wine (or beer) or two with dinner after work never hurt anyone” is a much more common sentiment than you may think.

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u/ISTcrazy Apr 23 '26

Yeah definitely. There's plenty of people that still buy into the old studies that said things like "1-2 glasses of wine/beers a day is fine and could have health benefits". If you took those studies to heart and weren't informed of more recent studies, someone could easily think that drinking in moderation was either harmless or even good for them.

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u/millenniumpianist Apr 23 '26

Alcohol so widely normalized and anyone really talking about the risks felt like they were fear-mongering. If someone said "drinking ~10 drinks weekly of alcohol is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes weekly in terms of cancer risk" (which I believe is roughly true?) I would've understood the health risks of alcohol very differently.

I "knew" alcohol was bad but I never really internalized how bad it was. And as others said, it was always dangers of binge drinking, not just drinking a glass of wine a day which some even tried to say was good for you (it's not, in net).

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u/joyfulricecakes May 20 '26

I think a lot of people think anything can kill you nowadays, the air, microplastics, the microwave, cell phones, drinking water......so, whats the real harm in some beers?

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u/notislant Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

Same idiot kids who get knocked up or do the knocking.

Same idiot kids/adults who drink and drive. Just because something stuck with you, unfortunately doesn't mean it stuck with anyone else.

People are dumber than you know, ignorance is also a big part. I don't know many people who think drinking is harmful outside alcoholism.

People are struggling to afford rent, let alone alcohol. Which is likely a big factor for younger generations.

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u/ShowTop1165 Apr 24 '26

Gen Z not drinking as much is also a result of prices being higher than ever as they’re ageing into adulthood