Agora: Red Deer Polytechnic Undergraduate Journal
Volume 14:1 2023 Agora Conference Proceedings

The Effects of Alcohol Consumption on College Students' Lives
Jane Turnbull
Drinking alcohol is a common social activity for some college students and is considered
a normal part of the classic college lifestyle. Students can experience their freedom, make
mistakes, understand themselves, create connections with people, learn, and have fun. College
requires hard work to maintain strong academic performance, but when the hard work is over,
college allows students to unwind and have a good time with friends, which can involve alcohol.
Although alcohol use in students can be used as a semi-regular social activity, for some, it can
seriously affect their lives. With new freedom from parents or authorities, drinking alcohol can
become an abused and regular occurrence. In some instances, students may drink excessively for
social reasons or to experience relief from the stress of college.
On the other hand, drinking may be used to cope with mental health issues, such as
depression and anxiety. Using alcohol as a coping mechanism can be done without knowing the
detrimental effects that alcohol can have on physical and mental health. Alcohol-induced sleep can
create fragmented or poor sleep due to irregular rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep (Couture 186).
Alcohol consumption can allow college students to experience a release from the pressures of
college life. However, students with excessive alcohol consumption habits can be affected in the
present and the future.
The stereotypical college lifestyle involves friends, partying, and a considerable amount of
alcohol. Despite this, not every college student spends time chugging beer and taking shots. A
sample of Australian college students aged eighteen to fifty was surveyed on the frequency of their
alcohol consumption; it was found that students aged eighteen to twenty drank significantly more
than students over twenty (Tanudjaja et al. 262). This comes with no surprise as eighteen to twenty
is the typical college age when individuals are granted more freedom from parents and are newly
the legal drinking age. The younger students were more likely to drink on an almost daily basis
and more likely to blackout when drinking alcohol (Tanudjaja et al. 262). Of the eighteen-totwenty-year old's, fifty percent consumed alcohol at a higher level than the recommended amount
by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Alcohol Guidelines for lifetime
harm (Tanudjaja et al. 262). This data shows that college students consume large amounts of

alcohol regularly; however, they may be unaware of its effects or are aware but assume that those
effects would never happen to them. As college students drink more alcohol than recommended
for their health, they are putting themselves at risk for future health problems both physically and
mentally.
Regardless of an individual’s age, consistent and excessive drinking patterns greatly
increase the risk of health problems. A study at the Stockholm University of Sweden measured the
relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of alcohol-related health problems. Of a
sample of 37,484 individuals aged twenty-five to seventy, one percent of the participants died over
the follow-up period due to an alcohol-related diagnosis, which averaged thirteen years (Thern and
Landberg 803). The heavy drinkers of the study were eight times as likely to be diagnosed with an
alcohol-related disease compared to light drinkers, and weekly drinkers were fourteen times as
likely to be diagnosed with an alcohol-related disease compared to people who did not drink at all
(Thern and Landberg 803). Health problems due to alcohol can include heart and liver diseases,
increased blood pressure, digestive problems, increased risk of a stroke, a weaker immune system,
and learning and memory problems (Thern and Landberg 805). High alcohol consumption can
also increase the risk of developing breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon, and rectum
cancers (Thern and Landberg 805). Among the effects alcohol can have on an individual’s physical
health and the increased risk of developing future health problems, it can also impact the state of
an individual’s mental health.
Mental health is an important issue for individuals everywhere, and coping strategies vary
for every individual. At Dalhousie University, students aged eighteen to twenty-five were surveyed
on why they drink. The survey was done on students who displayed moderate to severe depression
and stated that they drank to cope with depression. All participants reported that they felt an
improvement in their mood shortly after drinking alcohol (Couture 183). Contrarily, 62.5 percent
of participants noticed that their mood worsened later in the evening. 93.8 percent of participants
reported drinking socially, which increased and improved their social interactions and allowed
them to make more friends (Couture 183). On the other hand, alcohol is a depressant that disrupts
the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain and, therefore, can affect a person’s feelings, thoughts,
and behaviours (Rowland 2). Although alcohol can make a person feel relaxed, have lower anxiety,
and feel better mentally, the chemical changes in one's brain due to the alcohol lead to more
negative feelings (Rowland 2). Individuals with mental health issues may use alcohol to self119

medicate to help deal with their emotions. Although alcohol may be used to help an individual
deal with their depression, drinking alcohol may be the cause of their depression (Rowland 3).
Alcohol affects the natural levels of serotonin and dopamine, which initially cause feelings of
happiness. Still, as the effects of alcohol wear off, serotonin and dopamine are deficient and can
make one feel worse than before (Alberta Health Services 16). Among the effects alcohol has on
an individual's mental health, their mental health can be affected more by the inability to have a
restorative sleep.
Depression can be correlated with insufficient or poor sleep, which causes some people to
drink more and therefore enter a spiral of alcohol and mental illness. Alcohol-induced sleep can
create fragmented or poor sleep due to irregular REM sleep (Couture 186). The irregularities in
REM sleep may increase the chances of an individual experiencing more vivid or weird dreams
and increased snoring. Over half of the participants dependent on alcohol reported that they
experienced insomnia symptoms (Brooks 73). Individuals who struggle with insomnia symptoms
may self-medicate with the use of alcohol. Alternatively, they may use the sedative effects of
alcohol as a sleep aid to increase fatigue and have an easier time sleeping (Couture 186). Using
alcohol as a sleep aid can increase an individual's tolerance towards alcohol; as this tolerance
increases, individuals consume more alcohol (Brooks 74). Even after quitting regularly drinking
alcohol, sleep disturbances due to alcohol consumption persist. While for some, abandoning
alcohol will improve their sleep quality, the risk of lifelong insomnia remains (Brooks 79). When
a student can experience quality and rejuvenating sleep, it increases energy, brain function, body
functions, and memory (Brooks 79). Alcohol can greatly impact students' lives by causing physical
and mental health issues. However, alcohol can also allow students to connect with others and
have an enjoyable time amid college stress.
The consumption of alcohol, in the stereotypical sense, often includes that of a social
setting. Social interactions are fundamental aspects of the human experience and play an essential
role in the level of happiness in an individual’s life. In a study investigating the effects of alcohol
on emotions and bonding, the results found a positive correlation with the groups that did consume
alcohol (Sayette 1). The participants in this study consumed one drink of alcohol over a thirty-sixminute period in groups of three (Sayette 6). There were three conditions: groups that consumed
alcohol, groups that did not consume alcohol, and groups that thought they were consuming
alcohol but were not. None of the participants had any previous connection to the other participants
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in their groups, so all relationships were built naturally in the study. This study indicated that a
moderate dose of alcohol could positively affect an individual's emotions and ability to form
connections with others (Sayette 15). In the case of college students, the consumption of alcohol
may happen in settings where students are trying to form new relationships. Therefore, moderate
doses of alcohol may positively impact the lives of college students and may allow for the growth
of human connection.
The consumption of alcohol can create an environment where college students unwind and
create connections. However, a high consumption level can create physical and mental health
problems in the present and future. College students may use alcohol to relieve themselves from
the pressures of the college lifestyle and incorporate themselves into social situations. Some
students use alcohol to deal with their mental health issues, while others consume alcohol and
create mental health problems placing them in a downward spiral. Some students are unaware of
the health problems that alcohol can increase the risk of developing and, therefore, may be
unconcerned with the amount of alcohol they consume. A good night's sleep is vital to maintaining
a healthy mind and body. However, alcohol can irregulate sleep cycles, thus affecting the
importance of a student's sleep cycle. The classic college lifestyle commonly includes drinking
alcohol. Although there can be many negative impacts on an individual's health, alcohol can
connect people and allow students to learn, grow, make mistakes, and have fun.

Works Cited

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Brooks, Alyssa Todaro et al. "Sleep-related Cognitive/Behavioral Predictors of Sleep Quality
and Relapse in Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder." International Journal of
Behavioral Medicine. vol. 28, no. 73, May 2020, pp. 73-82. Red Deer Polytechnic
Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-020-09901-9. Accessed 9 June 2023
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Couture, Marie-Eve et al. "A Qualitative Study of the Perceived Effects of Alcohol on
Depressive Symptoms Among Undergraduates Who Drink to Cope with Depression".
Drug and Alcohol Review. vol. 39, no. 2, Feb. 2020, pp. 180-188, Red Deer Polytechnic
Library, https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13003. Accessed 9 June 2023.

Rowland, Mark et al. "Alcohol and Mental Health." Mental Health Foundation. Feb. 2022, pp. 17. Google, https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/alcoholand- mental-health. Accessed 9 June 2023.
Sayette, Michael A. et al. “Alcohol and Group Formation: A Multimodal Investigation of the
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Tanudjaja, Selitha Angus et al. “Alcohol Consumption and Associated Harms Among University
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Visontay, Rachel et al. "Are There Non-linear Relationships Between Alcohol Consumption and
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