The long term effects of excessive alcohol consumption can be devastating. The twitching usually wears off shortly after finishing drinking, but if it persists, it’s important to get your eyes checked by an optician, as it can also be a symptom of more serious conditions. It can occur for a variety of reasons anything from stress and fatigue to caffeine and dry eyes can be a trigger. Too much alcohol can also decrease your contrast sensitivity, making it more difficult for you to differentiate between multiple colours and shades.Ī third side effect of drinking excessively is a condition called myokymia, also known as eyelid twitching. Studies show that being at the legal driving limit in terms of blood alcohol level actually reduces the eye’s ability to adjust for brightness by 30%. This can make it difficult to see and is one of the reasons that driving whilst under the influence of alcohol is so dangerous – not to mention the general physical clumsiness that comes with having consumed a few drinks. The pupil allows light into the eye but, if the iris doesn’t contract quickly enough when exposed to bright light, it lets far too much light into the eye. Over time, alcohol consumption can actually cause permanent damage to your brain cells and neurotransmitters, further weakening the eye muscles and distorting vision.Īnother effect of decreased reaction times is the iris taking longer to contract, which is the process of making the pupil smaller.
This occurs as a result of weakened eye muscle coordination as alcohol is a depressant, slowing your reaction times and impairing coordination. The most common effect is double vision, or blurry vision, brought on by heavy drinking. There are a number of short term effects which alcohol has on your eyesight and, while not serious, they make it unsafe for you to drive in the hours after having consumed alcohol. Infrequent alcohol consumption in small quantities isn’t something you need to worry about too much, but the problems begin once a person is consuming alcohol regularly and in larger quantities. People’s drinking habits can vary significantly, from binge-drinking once a week on a Saturday night out, to having a glass of wine in the evenings after a long day in the office. While 20% of people surveyed by Drink Aware said that they didn’t drink at all, 57% of respondents had had at least one drink in the week leading up to being interviewed. Drinking alcohol is a normal part of life for many British adults.
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