If you’ve ever experienced a blackout from alcohol, it may be easy to shrug it off as a normal part of drinking culture or feel that it’s not a big deal if it isn’t happening all the time. However, this risky behavior of binge drinking and heavy alcohol consumption can not only lead to dangerous situations, but also long-term health issues, regardless of how often it occurs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that about 88,000 people die every year from alcohol-related causes, which include alcohol-impaired car crashes and chronic health problems like liver cancer.1 And excessive drinking is the cause of 10% of deaths among adults between 20 and 64 years old.1 In the U.S., binge drinking is the most common, costly, and deadly pattern of excessive alcohol use.2
With a better understanding of how binge drinking can have negative consequences in your life, it may help to prevent problematic patterns of alcohol use that could ultimately lead to dependency or addiction.
If you or a loved one is concerned about long-term memory problems, it may be time to reach out for professional help. Our admissions navigators are available to speak with you about treatment options 24/7. Call our hotline at to start your journey toward recovery today.
What Is the Definition of Binge Drinking?
Although there are definitions for what constitutes moderate, or low-risk drinking, many healthcare professionals might argue that there is actually no safe amount of alcohol consumption. However, when it comes to a “safe” level of drinking, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 considers up to 1 standard drink per day for women and up to 2 per day for men.3
A person’s liver can process about one standard drink, or 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol an hour.4,5 This can typically be found in:
- 12 ounces of beer, or one bottle at 5% alcohol.
- 8 ounces of malt liquor at 7% alcohol.
- 5 ounces of wine at 12% alcohol.
- 1.5 ounces of hard liquor, or one shot, at 40% alcohol.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) classifies binge drinking as 4 or more alcoholic drinks for females or 5 or more alcoholic drinks for males within a two-hour time period.3 According to the CDC, binge drinking is a serious but preventable issue in the U.S., costing the nation $249 billion in 2010 and resulting in health care expenditures, losses in workplace productivity, and criminal justice costs among other expenses.2
Health Effects From Binge Drinking
Nationally, 1 in 6 adults binge drinks about 4 times a month and 17 billion total binge drinks annually.2 More than 90% of those adults report binge drinking in the past 30 days.2 Binge drinking is also associated with many health problems including:2
- Chronic diseases (e.g., stroke, heart disease, liver disease, certain cancers, high blood pressure).
- Violence.
- Sexually transmitted diseases.
- Memory and learning issues.
- Unintended pregnancy and poor pregnancyoutcomes (e.g., miscarriage, stillbirth, sudden infant death syndrome, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders).
- Alcohol use disorder (AUD).
Binge drinking increases the risk of alcohol poisoning, which can cause death. Obvious signs of alcohol poisoning include severe mental confusion, slow or irregular breathing, bluish tinge to the skin, low body temperature, vomiting, seizures, and cold or clammy skin.12 If you suspect a person is suffering from alcohol poisoning, call 911 immediately.
What Is a Blackout?
A blackoutis a general term for a loss of memory; and the most common cause is a rapid increase in blood alcohol content (BAC) levels. This is sometimes calledalcohol-induced amnesia.When a blackout occurs, a person has problems forming new long-term memories while maintaining other skills such as talking.8 They are consequences of a rapid increase in BAC, most often caused by binge drinking.6 However, the effect of alcohol on memory can vary among different people, including the BAC level that will cause a blackout or “grayout” and some people never experience blackouts.7
Usually, a person’s BAC must reach at least 0.16%, twice the legal limit, to induce a blackout.7 Yet, alcohol can cause memory loss after only a few drinks and the more a person drinks, the more the impairment increases.13
How Do Blackouts Occur?
When sober,memories are formedafter sensory input is processed in short-term memory through a process calledtransfer encoding,then moved through a similar process into long-term memory.6 When a person remembers something, their brain retrieves the memory from long-term storage and puts it into short-term memory while the individual re-experiences the event. Research has shown that alcohol interferes with transfer encoding and retrieval between short-term and long-term memory storage, disrupting a person’s episodic memory.6
Types of Blackouts
There are two forms of alcohol-caused blackouts: complete and partial, or fragmentary (also called a “grayout”).8 En block (complete)involves total memory loss that cannot be recalled under any circumstances.8Partial (fragmentary)is more common and means that you may not immediately remember what happened, but certain cues can trigger memories to return.8
There is also a difference between blacking out and passing out. When a person passes out, they lose consciousness in a state similar to being asleep, although they are not likely to respond to stimuli like being spoken to or touched. When a person blacks out,they may continue to make decisions, hold conversations, and even continue to drink.7 They appear to be conscious, but they will not remember what happened. This is extremely dangerous, as they may attempt to drive, have unprotected sex, or perform other risky behaviors that can lead to permanent harm or even death.
Who Is at the Most Risk from Alcohol Blackouts?
Women are at greater risk of blacking out than men, and young adults are at greater risk of blacking out compared to older adults.6 Differences in hormones, body composition, and physical size, which affect alcohol distribution and metabolism among genders, is likely the reason why women are more prone to blacking out. Blackouts can occur at much lower BACs in people who drink and take sleep and anti-anxiety medications.7
Typically, adolescents and young adults are more likely to binge drink, and when they do, they are more likely to drink more alcohol per binge.7 According to SAMHSA’s 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, among 12- to 20-year-olds, an estimated 4.5 million binge drank at least once in the past month and 0.9 million binge drank on 5 or more days over the past month.9
One survey also found that 50% of college students who have had alcohol reported blacking out at some point and 40% reported experiencing a blackout a year prior.11 This is very risky and puts young people at serious risk of experiencing legal, financial, academic, and personal consequences, such as illness, mood disorders, sexual assault, physical violence, and hospitalization.
Are Binge Drinking and Blacking Out Signs of Addiction?
While binge drinking is not the same as alcohol use disorder,frequently drinking too much increases the risk of developing an alcohol dependence which can lead to addiction. Previously, alcohol-induced blackouts were an essential early warning sign of problematic drinking and among the top three indicators of alcoholism.8
It is now understood that while blackouts are not a direct sign of addiction, they can be a strong indicator of a person in the early phases of alcohol addiction.8 For adults, more than 3 drinks a day (or more than 7 in a week) for women and more than 4 drinks a day (or more than 14 in a week) for men is considered heavy or at-risk drinking.10
If you or a loved one are struggling with binge drinking and/or blacking out, American Addiction Centers (AAC) can work with you to begin your path toward sobriety. Alcohol.org is a subsidiary of AAC which provides a network of addiction treatment facilities across the nation for individuals seeking recovery from alcoholism. AAC offers a combination of proven therapies and services to meet your individual needs.
Call our hotline at to speak with an admissions navigator today about your treatment options or read more about AAC’s approach to treatment here.
FAQs
Does alcohol cause memory blackouts? ›
Alcohol-related blackouts are gaps in a person's memory for events that occurred while they were intoxicated. These gaps happen when a person drinks enough alcohol to temporarily block the transfer of memories from short-term to long-term storage—known as memory consolidation—in a brain area called the hippocampus.
Why do I black out so easily when I drink? ›Blackouts usually occur when your BAC is 0.16% or higher. Blackouts mainly occur when people ingest alcohol too quickly, so their body is not able to effectively process it out of their systems. The overload of alcohol in your bloodstream causes a rapid increase in BAC, which can increase the risk of blackouts.
Does binge drinking cause memory loss? ›Whether it's over one night or several years, heavy alcohol use can lead to lapses in memory. This may include difficulty recalling recent events or even an entire night. It can also lead to permanent memory loss, described as dementia. Doctors have identified several ways alcohol affects the brain and memory.
How do you recover from memory loss after drinking? ›Lost memories will never return, but the ability to form new memories can be restored. Rehabilitation treatment and therapy will help an alcohol abuser stop drinking and develop a healthier lifestyle that includes complete abstinence from alcohol, a healthy diet and vitamin supplements (including thiamine).
How do you stop a blackout when drinking? ›- Eat a meal or heavy appetizers before and during alcohol consumption.
- Drink slowly. Sipping, rather than gulping, can help you keep track of how alcohol is affecting your body.
- Consider drinking a glass of water between alcoholic drinks to limit how much and how quickly you're consuming alcohol.
A blackout generally does not mean that you have damaged your brain. However, long-term brain damage is a side effect of alcohol use. If a person builds a tolerance to alcohol and blacks out often from drinking, this can be harmful. They may show symptoms that mimic memory loss with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
What causes blackouts and memory loss? ›In a blackout, you experience a loss of memory. There are many different causes of blackout – it might be an effect of drugs or alcohol, a problem with circulation, or a problem within the brain, such as epilepsy. It may not be serious, but it is important to see your doctor and try to establish the underlying cause.
What is a memory blackout? ›Memory blackouts are a time of amnesia during alcohol consumption. Usually, a person will wake up from drinking and not remember moments from the night before. There are two types of memory blackouts: fragmentary blackouts and en bloc blackouts.
How can you tell if someone is blackout drunk? ›SHORT TERM MEMORY TEST
If you have been with the person all night while drinking, ask them about something that just happened or something that was just said 5 minutes ago. A person in a blackout will not remember something that happened a few minutes ago.
At an early stage of the disease, problems may be reduced or reversed if the person abstains from alcohol, improves their diet and replace vitamins especially thiamine and vitamin B1. Thiamine is important to limit some of the toxic effects of alcohol, and is an important supplement for heavy drinkers.
What does binge drinking do to the brain? ›
“Alcohol binge consumption decreased brain function in areas responsible for sensory, motor, memory and cognitive processes. This lines up with the known behavioral consequences of alcohol consumption: impaired vision, diminished motor skills and coordination, confusion and others.”
Can memory loss reversed? ›Treatment for memory loss depends on the cause. In many cases, it may be reversible with treatment. For example, memory loss from medications may resolve with a change in medication. Nutritional supplements can be useful against memory loss caused by a nutritional deficiency.
What is alcohol dementia called? ›Alcohol-related 'dementia' or Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome will cause them to struggle with day-to-day tasks. This is similar to someone living with dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease.
What are the symptoms of alcohol induced dementia? ›This is because of the damage to their brain, caused by regularly drinking too much alcohol over many years. The person may have memory loss and difficulty thinking things through. They may have problems with more complex tasks, such as managing their finances. The symptoms may cause problems with daily life.
How long does it take to develop Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome? ›Affected individuals may not display all three symptoms. Confusion and disorientation associated with Wernicke syndrome develops over a few days or weeks and is the main problem associated with the disorder. It is an acute syndrome precipitated by thiamine deficiency.
How long do blackouts last? ›Most power outages will be over almost as soon as they begin, but some can last much longer – up to days or even weeks. Power outages are often caused by freezing rain, sleet storms and/or high winds which damage power lines and equipment. Cold snaps or heat waves can also overload the electric power system.
How do you remember drunk nights? ›- Call history. If only it weren't so easy to drunk-dial a friend or ex-girlfriend, but at least mobile phones keep a record of your calls. ...
- Internet history. ...
- Photos/videos. ...
- Roommate interaction. ...
- Call friends.
A psychogenic blackout is a medical term for a blackout that can look like reflex syncope or even an epileptic seizure, but it is not related to either. A psychogenic blackout can be difficult to diagnose.
How long does it take for brain chemistry to return to normal after alcohol? ›It takes at least two weeks for the brain to return to normal after drinking. Therefore, this is when the alcohol recovery timeline begins. It is less able to suppress a desire to drink until the brain has recovered. The reason for this is that alcohol has harmed the brain's cognitive function.
Can you reverse brain damage from alcohol? ›Once brain cells die, the effect of the brain damage is permanent. Thankfully, some of the changes in the alcoholic brain are due to cells simply changing size in the brain. Once an alcoholic has stopped drinking, these cells return to their normal volume, showing that some alcohol-related brain damage is reversible.
Does alcohol cause dementia? ›
Alcohol consumption in excess has well-documented negative effects on both short- and long-term health, one of which is brain damage that can lead to Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.
Is there a cure for blackouts? ›A doctor may prescribe fludrocortisone to reduce blackouts in people who experience neurally mediated syncope. If anyone feels as though they are about to faint, they should sit or lie down so that they do not injure themselves if they fall unconscious.
Can stress cause memory blackouts? ›Stress, anxiety or depression can cause forgetfulness, confusion, difficulty concentrating and other problems that disrupt daily activities. Alcoholism. Chronic alcoholism can seriously impair mental abilities. Alcohol can also cause memory loss by interacting with medications.
What is the difference between passing out and fainting? ›Some people use the terms blackout and fainting interchangeably, but they are two different things. A blackout is a loss of memory. Fainting, also called passing out, is a loss of consciousness. Both of these can have several different causes.
Why do I pass out after drinking alcohol? ›Drinking too much, too fast increases blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Too much alcohol in the bloodstream is called alcohol poisoning. It can cause a person to pass out.
Do you recall memories after being drunk? ›Individuals are typically able to recall long–term memories formed before they became intoxicated; however, beginning with just one or two drinks, they begin to show impairments in the ability to transfer information into long–term storage.
How long does it take to reset alcohol tolerance? ›It's important to note that it takes more than a weekend of abstinence to reset alcohol tolerance. Tolerance may begin to diminish after a few days, but it may take two weeks to return your tolerance level to normal.
What is the medical term for alcoholic blackout? ›A 2015 survey of English teenagers who drank showed 30 percent of 15-year-olds and 75 percent of 19-year-olds suffered alcohol-induced blackouts. In medical terms this memory loss is a form of temporary anterograde amnesia, a condition where the ability to form new memories is, for a limited time, impaired.
What blood alcohol level is fatal? ›BAC Over 0.40%: This is a potentially fatal blood alcohol level. You're at risk of coma and death from respiratory arrest (absence of breathing).
Should a drunk person sleep? ›Your blood alcohol level can still rise whilst you're asleep and lead to alcohol poisoning. That's the big deal… putting a drunk person to sleep doesn't automatically remove the undigested alcohol from their system. They're body still needs to process it and break it down.
Does alcohol cause short term memory loss? ›
Specifically, both acute alcohol exposure and hippocampal damage impair the ability to form new long–term, explicit memories but do not affect short–term memory storage or, in general, the recall of information from long–term storage.
What causes blackouts and memory loss? ›In a blackout, you experience a loss of memory. There are many different causes of blackout – it might be an effect of drugs or alcohol, a problem with circulation, or a problem within the brain, such as epilepsy. It may not be serious, but it is important to see your doctor and try to establish the underlying cause.
What is a memory blackout? ›Memory blackouts are a time of amnesia during alcohol consumption. Usually, a person will wake up from drinking and not remember moments from the night before. There are two types of memory blackouts: fragmentary blackouts and en bloc blackouts.
Is alcoholic dementia reversible? ›At an early stage of the disease, problems may be reduced or reversed if the person abstains from alcohol, improves their diet and replace vitamins especially thiamine and vitamin B1. Thiamine is important to limit some of the toxic effects of alcohol, and is an important supplement for heavy drinkers.
What are the symptoms of alcohol induced dementia? ›This is because of the damage to their brain, caused by regularly drinking too much alcohol over many years. The person may have memory loss and difficulty thinking things through. They may have problems with more complex tasks, such as managing their finances. The symptoms may cause problems with daily life.
How much do you have to drink to get alcoholic dementia? ›Regardless of type of alcohol consumed, the risk of dementia increased linearly, starting around 14 units/week (appendix figure S5).
Is there a cure for blackouts? ›A doctor may prescribe fludrocortisone to reduce blackouts in people who experience neurally mediated syncope. If anyone feels as though they are about to faint, they should sit or lie down so that they do not injure themselves if they fall unconscious.
What is a psychogenic blackout? ›A psychogenic blackout is a medical term for a blackout that can look like reflex syncope or even an epileptic seizure, but it is not related to either. A psychogenic blackout can be difficult to diagnose.
How long do blackouts last? ›Most power outages will be over almost as soon as they begin, but some can last much longer – up to days or even weeks. Power outages are often caused by freezing rain, sleet storms and/or high winds which damage power lines and equipment. Cold snaps or heat waves can also overload the electric power system.
Is damage from drinking reversible? ›However, in most cases, the full extent of the damage produced by chronic and heavy alcohol use on the cardiovascular system is not fully resolved. Typically, any reversal of damage occurs rapidly in the first months to the first year of abstinence and then slows down following that.
Can you repair alcohol damage to the brain? ›
Once brain cells die, the effect of the brain damage is permanent. Thankfully, some of the changes in the alcoholic brain are due to cells simply changing size in the brain. Once an alcoholic has stopped drinking, these cells return to their normal volume, showing that some alcohol-related brain damage is reversible.
How long does it take for brain chemistry to return to normal after alcohol? ›It takes at least two weeks for the brain to return to normal after drinking. Therefore, this is when the alcohol recovery timeline begins. It is less able to suppress a desire to drink until the brain has recovered. The reason for this is that alcohol has harmed the brain's cognitive function.
Why do I pass out after drinking alcohol? ›Drinking too much, too fast increases blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Too much alcohol in the bloodstream is called alcohol poisoning. It can cause a person to pass out.
Do you recall memories after being drunk? ›Individuals are typically able to recall long–term memories formed before they became intoxicated; however, beginning with just one or two drinks, they begin to show impairments in the ability to transfer information into long–term storage.
How long does it take to reset alcohol tolerance? ›It's important to note that it takes more than a weekend of abstinence to reset alcohol tolerance. Tolerance may begin to diminish after a few days, but it may take two weeks to return your tolerance level to normal.