Many of you reading this have had a big night out for a friend’s birthday or a job promotion and have woken up the next morning with no memory of what happened the night before. But what causes us to have a blank space in our memory and what are the health implications?

When alcohol is consumed in excessive quantities, your blood alcohol levels rise and, like other sedatives, this leads to a drop in higher brain function. Alcohol blocks pro-memory neurotransmitters and boosts anti-memory neurotransmitters, resulting in a difficulty to recall details or even entire events.

The effect of alcohol on memory can vary per individual however generally speaking, when a person’s blood alcohol level is around 0.14, they reach the memory failure stage.

There are two forms of alcohol blackout:
•    Complete blackout - where no memories are stored until the body’s blood alcohol level returns to appropriate levels
•    Partial blackout – where initial memories are forgotten, but social cues trigger specific memories to return

Women are more at risk than men of blacking out, because of their differences in hormones and body composition. This means women get drunk on less alcohol and their blood alcohol levels rise faster.  
Similarly, younger people are more at risk than old. Typically, the younger age group has a binging culture, with little knowledge of their limits. This causes teens to overestimate how much they can consume in one single session, often leading to blackout.

There are a few health implications associated with blackout, especially serious for young adults who are still developing physically and mentally. Drinking alcohol excessively when the brain is still developing can have long term effects on memory.

The most obvious impacts are those that impair your ability to walk, speak and react. Other issues include headaches, dry mouth, nausea and diarrhea.

Brisbane home doctors recommend drinking alcohol in moderation and at a slower pace to prevent blackouts.