Like how/why does the human body & mind react to drinking alcohol the way it does. What about it causes us to get drunk?
In: Biology
In addition to what has been stated above, ethanol (aka “alcohol”) is a diruetic…. meaning it forces the kidneys to expel water (through decidedly non-ELI5 specifics). This increase in water loss results in a lower blood volume. Lower blood volume results in a proportional (sort of) decrease in blood flow to the brain, which leads to less oxygen delivery to the brain. This is one cause of the lightheadedness that drunkenness includes.
That decrease in oxygen delivery coupled with the increase in brain chemicals (GABA) that alcohol results in is why one feels “drunk” after inbibing ethanol.
Alcohol hits the same spot on your brain that the “slow down” things hit. Too much slowing down means you start to feel less anxious, more euphoric, unable to control movements/speech correctly, and at an extreme your heart and lungs slow down too which can be fatal
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