By Natasha Savanhu
Most of us enjoy the occasional cocktail at a special dinner date or a bar, cheering with friends. Some welcome the company of a California ruby red cabernet sauvignon with a moment of relaxation after a long hard day at work. But, then, there is just the absolute satisfaction of cracking open an ice-cold beer while watching your favourite team play.
Whatever your fancy, we know that alcohol consumption is prevalent in our society. Yet, the adverse consequences of alcohol can be dangerous, specifically instances of memory loss or amnesia about the previous day or night's events. One may recall some part of the night but then draws a complete blank.
Dr. Timmen L. Cermak – Psychology Today, shares a story of the consequences of alcohol blackout (Credit: Getty Images)
An alcohol blackout happens during high-intensity drinking. That is, drinking excessive alcohol within a short time causing a person's blood alcohol content (BAC) to rise rapidly. Excessive is reported to be as much as drinking 5 drinks for men and 4 drinks for women within 2 hours.
Blacking out is commonly mistaken for passing out, but these two experiences differ. Passing out from alcohol consumption means losing consciousness and no longer being in a wakefulness state. In contrast, a person experiencing a blackout is awake and continuing to interact with other people and their environment, including finding their way home.
What is happening in the brain is that all those interactions and activities the individual is experiencing are not transferring from short-term memory to long-term memory. High amounts of alcohol disrupt that necessary brain process and result in memory loss of what transpired during the event surrounding alcohol consumption.
The highest drinking rates in Canada are among young adults 18 – 24. Social drinking and celebrations are the top motivations to drink among college students. Yet, all too often, activities involving high-intensity drinking, such as shots or chugging, spike blood alcohol levels twice beyond the legal limit and often lead to some experiencing alcohol-fuelled blackouts.
It may seem normal or warrant a laugh off having experienced a blackout. But the truth is, it's not so amusing the 6th or 8th time when it starts to get in the way of performing at school or work. Or worse if it turns into other problems like alcohol use disorder, disorderly behaviour, or sexual harassment.
Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction report that highest drinking rates in Canada continue to be prevalent among young adults 18 – 24 (Credit: Getty Images)
Protective Behavioural Strategies (PBS) are tools broken down into three distinct categories that an individual can use to self-regulate the amount of alcohol they consume.
Protective behavioural Strategies. Adapted from “Use of protective behavioral strategies and blackout experience among mandated college students,” by Carey, K. B., Tempchin, J., DiBello, A. M., & Mastroleo, N. R., 2022, Addictive Behaviors, 132, 107340–107340. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107340)
Research conducted at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University School of Public Health, examined whether using PBS strategies would reduce the likelihood of experiencing blackouts and, if so, which specific protective behavioural strategies would be most effective.
The study was conducted on college students considered heavy drinkers. Heavy Drinking was considered to be at least 5 drinks for males and 4 drinks for females on a single event. Students were asked questions to determine their alcohol consumption, if they had experienced a blackout, and when PBS was used.
This study showed that using PBS reduced the chances of experiencing a blackout. When we take a closer look at the specific PBS and how effective each of them are in alleviating alcohol-induced memory loss, we see that the use of Limiting/Stopping Drinking or Manner of Drinking had the most significant impact on reducing blackouts.
However, Serious Harm Reduction strategies did not make much of a difference in reducing the likelihood of students experiencing a blackout. The researchers also interpreted the results as showing that when people go out intending to drink a lot of alcohol, the possibility of practicing Limiting/Stopping Drinking lessens. In addition, using Serious Hard Reduction, such as making arrangements for a designated driver, are less effective in protecting against experiencing blackouts because it gives a pretense that one can drink however much they want just because they have avoided other negative consequences of alcohol use such as driving accidents.
Overall, protective behavioural strategies are effective and necessary. Practicing some of every strategy limits the chances of harmful physical consequences from happening. Drinking responsibly using Manner of Drinking strategies is the most effective method to avoid high levels of intoxication, which goes a long way to avoiding those gaps in our fun memories.
(Credit: Getty Images)
References
Carey, K. B., Tempchin, J., DiBello, A. M., & Mastroleo, N. R. (2022). Use of protective behavioral strategies and blackout experience among mandated college students. Addictive Behaviors, 132, 107340–107340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107340
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