Ah, the age old debate
| Quote: | Originally posted by vgabndo
My personal chemistry just doesn't need depressants!
|
Stimulating Effects of Alcohol
Whether alcohol is a stimulant or depressant depends upon the amount consumed and how much time has passed since the last intake. The ethanol content
in alcohol that is meant for consumption causes the release of Dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a neurohormone whose increased release causes the
heart rate and blood pressure to increase. This gives the initial "flushed" feeling and imparts a sudden warmth to the face and extremities of the
body. Speech becomes faster and a person tends to lower his guards and drop inhibitions as the initial effects of alcohol start setting in. This
effect can, especially, be seen within the first few minutes of drinking alcoholic liquors such as brandy, vodka or rum. Red wine also gives a similar
flush but this effect is more gradual in wine's case and the sudden warmth is substituted by a gradual "glow", if you know what I mean. Therefore, in
the initial moments of its intake, alcohol acts as a stimulant and acts as an anti-inhibitor.
Depressing Effects of Alcohol
The ethanol found in alcohol is a psychoactive drug and is a central nervous system depressant. Alcohol and depression are inseparable companions.
High quantity consumption for a long duration and chronic alcohol addiction causes such side effects as slurred speech, blurred vision, poor balance
and coordination, loss of muscle coordination, diminished mental focus and ability to concentrate and, in severe cases, even death! After the initial
rush, high levels of ethanol in the bloodstream get carried to the brain. Being a central nervous system depressant, it slowly starts loosening the
nervous system's control over the body's other organs and functions. This is what causes loss of coordination and balance. It also causes the heart
rate to slow down, leading to hypotension, which imparts a feeling of dizziness or drowsiness, followed by hangover. The depressant side effects of
alcohol manifest slower if alcohol is consumed with meals or on a full stomach as this causes its rate of absorption into the bloodstream to slow
down. Taken on an empty stomach, the alcohol reaches the bloodstream in no time, causing its side effects to manifest quickly and more potently! To
determine if alcohol is a stimulant or a depressant for the nervous system, I'd say it is definitely a depressant, judging by its long-term effects
and assuming that the regular drinker's alcohol intake, per occasion, tends to be on the moderate to higher side! You may read is alcohol a depressant
to find out more about alcohol's depressant features.
As we saw, whether alcohol is a stimulant or depressant depends upon the quantity consumed and the time that has passed since its consumption.
However, to give a final verdict on the debate regarding whether alcohol is a stimulant or depressant, it would not be unfair to say that alcohol is
definitely a depressant in the end. The stimulating effects are initial and short-lived whereas the depressant effects, that set in later, are longer
lasting and are experienced the most by victims of alcoholism. After all, a drunkard is better identified by his faltering steps and slurry speech
rather than his garrulous confidence and ruddy glow!
www.buzzle.com/articles/is-alcohol-a-stimulant-or-depressant...
By Ishani Chatterjee Shukla
Last Updated: 12/30/2011
_______________________________________________
I agree that TV can be a real depressant
Bob Durrell
|
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
