Take this TRUE OR FALSE test to find out how much you really know about what drinking does to your body.

1. Alcohol is toxic to the human body.

2. Devouring a burger after drinking all night will help you sober up.

3. Alcohol, food, and non- alcoholic beverages are all digested the same way.

4. Taking a nap helps you sober up.

5. Alcohol doesn't affect your body's organs unless you get really drunk.

6. You can suffer alcohol withdrawal symptoms after your first time drinking.

7. As long as you've gotten a few hours of sleep, you'll be fine to drive the morning after you've been drinking.

8. Passing out can be life threatening.

9. Getting drunk will help you to perform better sexually.

10. Even though alcohol is a drug, you can't overdose on it.

11. Your family history can influence your drinking habits.

12. Every time you drink alcohol, you kill 10,000 brain cells.

Answer Key:

 

 

 

 

1. TRUE There is a limit to how much alcohol the human body can tolerate. When you drink too much, your blood alcohol level can rise to a point where it actually becomes poisonous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. FALSE The liver can break down alcohol at a rate of about .5 oz. per hour, which is about half the alcohol in an average drink. Once alcohol is in you bloodstream, nothing can speed this rate. Not caffeine. Not food. Not water. You might be full, but you won't be any less drunk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. FALSE Alcohol is not digested like other foods or beverages. It passes directly into the bloodstream through the tissue that lines the stomach and small intestine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. FALSE Sleeping does not increase the rate at which your body can process the alcohol in your system. It will still be metabolized at .5 oz. per hour, even while you snooze. So you can wake up and still be drunk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. FALSE When you have an empty stomach, alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream through the small intestine within about five minutes. As soon as it's in the bloodstream, it takes about 90 seconds for it to be carried to all of the body's organs, including the brain. So you don't have to be drunk for your whole body to be feeling alcohol's effects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. TRUE Alcohol, like other drugs, has withdrawal symptoms. The common hangover has symptoms like headache, nausea, dehydration, and the shakes similar to the symptoms of withdrawal from narcotics, like heroin, and depressants, like tranquilizers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. FALSE Your motor coordination can be affected for as many as ten hours after you finished your last drink. So before you get in the car to drive home the morning after a party, think twice about your ability to drive safely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. TRUE If you drink so much that you pass out, it's because the alcohol has caused your brain to start shutting down, resulting in your loss of consciousness. The amount of alcohol it takes to make you pass out is dangerously close to the amount of alcohol it takes to kill you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. FALSE Consumption of alcohol may loosen up your sexual inhibitions, but excessive drinking can cause impotence in men and decreased vaginal or clitoral sensation in women.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. FALSE When you drink too much, that's the same thing as overdosing on alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant drug that slows the central nervous system, decreasing your heart and breathing rates and lowering your blood pressure. A dangerously high blood alcohol level can cause your heartbeat and breathing to stop altogether, which means you can die from drinking too much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. TRUE Children of alcoholics are three to four times more likely to become alcoholics themselves. So if you've got a family history of heavy alcohol use, you are at a greater risk of developing alcohol problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12. FALSE Not exactly. It's unlikely that a single drink will kill brain cells. However, long-term, chronic drinking can cause permanent memory loss and brain damage. Almost 70% of people in treatment for alcohol-related problems suffer severe impairment of memory formation, abstract thinking, problem solving, and ability to concentrate.