Bingeing hits students
Tuesday August 3rd, 2010
Student binge drinkers may find themselves failing to attend lectures or complete assignments, researchers have warned.
A new study of the effects of heavy drinking on students has found that binge drinking damages what is known as the "prospective memory" - the aspect of the memory which helps people organise their lives.
The
latest findings come from a study of students in north-east England.
Some 21 of the students were classed as binge drinkers - which was defined as a man downing at least six pints of beer twice a week and a woman drinking six glasses of wine.
The test at Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, involved showing students a ten minute video of a shopping district in Scarborough - having primed them to do specific tasks when they saw particular locations.
Bingers missed many of their tasks, the researchers found.
The forgetfulness was not just the result of recent heavy drinking - as participants were tested to ensure they had not taken drugs, tobacco or alcohol in the previous 24 hours.
Researchers also found that binge-drinkers were not aware of their loss of memory.
Researcher Dr Tom Heffernan said: "It is important to realise that there no safe levels of drinking set for teenagers and that the amount of bingeing revealed in the present study represents a high volume of alcohol intake across the two to three bingeing sessions which were the norm in the group.
"The high levels of drinking amongst teenagers is particularly worrying given the mounting evidence that the teenage brain is still maturing and undergoing significant development in terms of its structure and function.
"Given that teenagers are inexperienced drinkers who have both a low tolerance for alcohol and immature neuro-physiological systems, they should therefore be drinking much less than the safe levels recommended for adults."
Does binge drinking in teenagers affect their everyday prospective memory? T. Heffernan, R. Clark, J. Bartholomew, J. Ling and S. Stephens. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, volume 109, Issue 1, pages 73–78, 1 June 2010 doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.12.013
Tags: Drug and Alcohol Abuse | Infancy to Adolescence | Mental Health | UK News
Printer friendly page