Ah, vodka.
After a long day at work or at home with the family, there are few things more refreshing
than a cold vodka cocktail.
But what are the effects this might have on your body?
Here's exactly what happens when you drink vodka every night.
Good news!
A serving of vodka has a mood-boosting effect that makes you feel happy and content, as
noted by Laura Krebs-Holm, a registered dietitian.
She told us,
"Like most alcoholic beverages, vodka can help you relax.
Additionally, many people enjoy a drink in the company of others, which can also help
to improve mood."
That's going to help brush off a particularly long or stressful day, and let's face it,
that's exactly what we need to do on most evenings.
In addition to the dopamine that alcohol consumption can stimulate, there are other mechanisms
at work that get your good feelings going when you partake in a nightly drink of vodka.
According to Live Science, drinking alcoholic beverages stimulates the release of endorphins,
hormones that make you feel pleasure, and that dull pain.
Those are the same chemicals that are triggered when you do other pleasurable activities,
such as eating, exercising, and getting intimate…all in a single drink!
It might sound a little weird given the not-so-family-friendly image of alcohol, but vodka, like other spirits,
is an antiseptic, according to multiple studies.
So if you're ever in a pinch, you can use a high-proof vodka to clean your house, sterilize
a wound, or clean anything that needs to be disinfected on the fly, just make sure there
are no additives in it other than water!
That would render it less sterile.
Vodka's cleaning properties could also be useful when it comes to keeping your mouth
healthy, according to James Cobb, a registered nurse.
He explained to us,
"If you swish vodka around in your mouth a bit before swallowing, your dental hygiene
might improve."
He noted that vodka could potentially help prevent cavities, but also cautioned that
if you drink too much vodka, the negative consequences will negate any oral benefits.
And that means moderation is key here, as with all other types of alcohol you're hoping
to get some benefits from.
According to Healthline, too much vodka could possibly dry out drinkers' mouths and cause
harm, since saliva is one of the body's natural defenses against tooth decay.
So, if you want to drink vodka every night, just be aware that the effects on your oral
health could be mixed.
"Let me see your teeth.
Let me see.
Let me see 'em."
The choice to drink vodka often in and of itself isn't going to magically make you lose
weight, though that would be a pretty incredible thing.
But if you opt for vodka instead of beer and wine for your go-to drink, you might lose
weight over time, as noted by Krebs-Holm.
She told us,
"Like other distilled spirits, vodka is lower in calories than beer or wine per serving.
One shot of vodka has about 90 calories."
And even though that's way more calories per ounce than beer or wine, you presumably won't
need to drink as much vodka as you would beer or wine to feel the same effects, so that
caloric count really isn't bad.
This came with a word of warning, though, and it's an important one.
Krebs-Holm added:
"If [vodka] is mixed with sugar-sweetened mixers, juices, simple syrup, or high calorie
sodas, it may impact your efforts to lose weight."
Bottom line?
You should stick to seltzer water, a hint of lime juice, or diet sodas if you're looking
to drop a few pounds.
Do you ever have problems falling asleep at night no matter how tired you are, or how
busy your day was?
Have you turned to drinking a shot of vodka every night at bedtime to help you relax and
beat your insomnia?
Well, that can have both good and bad effects, according to James Cobb, who told us,
"If you drink a moderate amount of vodka before bed it might cause you to fall asleep faster
and to sleep deeper.
Unfortunately, the sleep won't be of the highest quality."
So while it's certainly better than no sleep at all, the sleep you'll get after drinking
won't be as good as old-fashioned natural sleep.
Why is that?
The reason for this is because vodka has an impact on one specific kind of sleep…and
because of that, your mileage may vary if you're turning to vodka to help you get your
beauty rest.
Why?
Cobb says:
"All alcohol affects the [Rapid Eye Movement] cycles.
REM sleep is important for things like learning and brain health, and while that might suffer,
you may feel rested."
Have you noticed that the more often you drink, the more alcohol you need to get to the same
level of intoxication?
That's not uncommon, as noted by Krebs-Holm.
She says that most people find that when they regularly drink alcohol, they're just not
going to feel the same thing that they did before.
But that's not an all-clear to overdo it: most of the benefits are linked to moderate
consumption, and that stays the same level no matter how you're feeling.
And here's the rule of thumb, that's one drink per night for women, and one for men.
According to the CDC, approximately 29 percent of Americans have high blood pressure, which
is about 75 million people.
Unfortunately, having high blood pressure can make you much more likely to be at risk
for heart disease and stroke, which are common causes of death in the United States.
On the bright side, if you drink vodka every night, it just might improve your blood pressure,
according to Krebs-Holm.
She told us,
"Moderate alcohol consumption has been linked to improved blood pressure due to its ability
to relax blood vessels and help with increasing new blood vessel formation."
But she also warned that for those who have already been diagnosed with high blood pressure,
regular drinking can make it worse.
Instead, to lower your blood pressure, do the same things you would do to keep your
cholesterol down: mind your diet, get plenty of exercise, and quit smoking.
This one goes without saying.
If you only drink one vodka cocktail every night, you're not going to wind up slurring
your speech or stumbling around.
But if you're knocking back shot after shot, that can have a real impact on your cognitive
function, according to Dr. Nick Knight.
And those effects can be seen pretty much across the board.
He explained to the BBC:
"A number of processes slow down.
You get a reduction in your executive function, so judgement, your decision making.
You become less inhibited and you are tempted to take more risks than you would usually."
That's why you should absolutely never drive after drinking a lot of alcohol, as it can
be extremely dangerous, as noted by Dr. Knight, and the bottom line?
If you want to drink lots of vodka, be sure to limit yourself and be safe about doing
it.
Have you noticed that ever since you started drinking vodka regularly that you've been
more likely to get sick during cold and flu season?
Did you used to never get sick, but now you can't seem to avoid it?
If so, it's possible that your daily vodka intake is responsible for you getting under
the weather, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
That's because alcohol can have a negative impact on your immune system, rendering you
more vulnerable to the flu, colds, and other infections.
But, there's good news!
Having a single serving of alcohol every day might just boost your immune system, according
to a 2013 study published in the journal Vaccine.
But if you're drinking too much, there's a good chance you're going to catch whatever
is going around, and that's definitely not a good thing.
"Now I'm hot, now it's really hot in here."
"Okay, well, that's your fever."
"Leslie, I typed your symptoms into the thing up here and it said you could have 'network
connectivity problems.'"
After you drink vodka drinks all night long, do you find yourself waking up in the morning
feeling awful?
Do you swear on those mornings that you're never drinking again?
Surprise!
It's highly likely that you're having a hangover, which can happen after drinking too much alcohol.
If you've ever had a hangover before, you know full well just how horrible they can
be.
Although you can take steps to prevent and treat hangovers, the exact science at work
is a bit blurry, according to Dr. Regina Krel, a specialist at the Neuroscience Institute
at Hackensack University Medical Center.
She explained,
"The actual mechanism of what happens during a hangover is still not clear but is thought
to be a result...of changes in electrolytes, dehydration, and low blood sugar.
The most common symptoms during a hangover include headache, nausea, dizziness, feeling
sleepy or sluggish."
So, in order to avoid hangovers, you might not want to drink vodka every night, or at
least not more than one glass.
Almost every organ in your body takes a beating when you overindulge in alcohol.
None of the results are pretty, and it doesn't matter how much you look forward to a regular
drink; it's not worth it to go overboard on indulging.
According to Healthline, if you imbibe too much vodka every day for years at a time,
the following can occur:
Your frontal lobe can shrink, your heart can be damaged, you can be more prone to lung
disease, your liver function can drop, you could develop pancreatitis, you could struggle
with infertility, your bones may thin, and you might damage your central nervous system.
And if you become physically dependent on alcohol, withdrawal symptoms can include anxiety,
irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, nausea, tremors, and even hallucinations.
Finally, if you drink vodka while pregnant, not only are you at a higher risk of miscarriage,
but your baby could be born with fetal alcohol syndrome.
With all of those devastating effects, it's clearly a good idea to drink in moderation
and be careful not to overindulge.
Unfortunately for people who drink vodka on a nightly basis, ingesting alcohol every day
has been linked with an increased risk of disease, according to researcher Dr. Sarah
M. Hartz.
She told Medical News Today:
"Consuming one or two drinks about four days per week seemed to protect against cardiovascular
disease, but drinking every day eliminated those benefits.
With regard to cancer risk, any drinking at all was detrimental."
That doesn't mean you have to give up vodka altogether if you're concerned about cancer
risk, but drinking it daily might not be the safest approach, as noted by Noelle LoConte,
an oncologist and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin.
She told NPR:
"We're not proponents of complete abstinence.
There probably is an amount of drinking that's OK.
But from a cancer-prevention standpoint, drinking the least amount of alcohol possible would
be the best strategy."
It'll probably come as no surprise, but if you frequently drink vodka in large amounts,
there's a chance that you can become dependent on it, according to Dr. Howard C. Becker,
a professor of psychiatry.
He wrote in Alcohol Research Current Reviews:
"Continued excessive alcohol consumption can lead to the development of dependence that
is associated with a withdrawal syndrome when alcohol consumption is ceased or substantially
reduced.
This syndrome comprises physical signs as well as psychological symptoms that contribute
to distress and psychological discomfort."
That doesn't sound pleasant.
In order to avoid becoming dependent on alcohol, or developing any of the other associated
health risks that can come with drinking it, you should watch out for signs that you drink
too much.
If you are aware that you do have a problem, abstinence may be the best option, according
to Medical News Today.
Remember, at the end of that day, even the tough ones, you know what's best for you.
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