MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Motoring
  • Video
MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Motoring
  • Video
Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

The Health Council Is Advising No More Than 10 Drinks A Week, So Steady On

The Health Council Is Advising No More Than 10 Drinks A Week, So Steady On

Hangover-Free Alcohol Could Be On Our Shelves In Just a Few Years

Hangover-Free Alcohol Could Be On Our Shelves In Just a Few Years

How Binge Drinking Just Once Can Mess With Your Sleep Forever

How Binge Drinking Just Once Can Mess With Your Sleep Forever

Alcohol More Harmful To The Brain Than Marijuana

Alcohol More Harmful To The Brain Than Marijuana

{headline}

{headline}

3 Gross Things That Happen to Your Face When You Drink and Smoke

3 Gross Things That Happen to Your Face When You Drink and Smoke

Here's What Just One Night of Binge Drinking Does to Your Body

Here's What Just One Night of Binge Drinking Does to Your Body

Meet Your New Inspiration, The Quadriplegic Doctor Slash Lawyer

Meet Your New Inspiration, The Quadriplegic Doctor Slash Lawyer

{headline}

{headline}

6 Health and Nutrition Trends Set To Kick Off This Year

6 Health and Nutrition Trends Set To Kick Off This Year

This New Science-backed Energy Drink is 100 per cent Natural

This New Science-backed Energy Drink is 100 per cent Natural

10 Health And Fitness Instagram Accounts That Are Inspiring Us To Take On 2021

10 Health And Fitness Instagram Accounts That Are Inspiring Us To Take On 2021

Drinking More In Isolation? You're Certainly Not Alone

Drinking More In Isolation? You're Certainly Not Alone

How To Set Up Your Work From Home Space

How To Set Up Your Work From Home Space

Government Orders Shutdown Of Gyms And Indoor Sporting Venues

Government Orders Shutdown Of Gyms And Indoor Sporting Venues

Is Popcorn A Healthy Snack?

Is Popcorn A Healthy Snack?

  1. Home
  2. Life

How Much Drinking Can Your Body Really Take in Your 20s?

No sleep, a little ecstasy and other habits your body will (and won’t) forgive you for - by Cassie Shortsleeve
  • 15 Feb 2019
How Much Drinking Can Your Body Really Take in Your 20s?
Getty Images

Being young means your body can take just about anything you do to it, right? You might be surprised at which of the stupid things you do to it takes a big toll and what’s not as bad as you thought. Discover three things you can't get away with for long—and two things you can.

3 Things You Can’t Get Away With

1. Routinely drinking to oblivion

Your brain is still pretty young—it’s not fully developed until your mid- to late 20s. Right now there are more connections between neurons. This helps you learn quickly, but it also means there’s more real estate for alcohol to bind to, explains Frances E. Jensen, M.D., author of The Teenage Brain. This makes the effects of booze more profound and allows addictions to form in a stronger, more permanent way than they do later. Plus, binge drinking now is linked to reduced areas of the brain involved in memory, language, attention, and more—and they stay smaller for life.

2. A hardcore weed habit

When you're young, the trillions of connections in your brain become wrapped in an “insulation” called myelin—a construction project that starts in the back of your brain at birth and, over time, moves forward, speeding up connections along the way. The crucial frontal lobe, which controls decision making, is the last to wrap up. Chronic cannabis use in your 20s can mess up the process. The result: a higher propensity for risk taking throughout life, Dr. Jensen says.

3. Avoiding the dentist

The 20s are the worst decade for oral health in males,” says Mark S. Wolff, D.D.S., Ph.D. Skipping these appointments now can lead to tons of time (and money) in the dentist’s office later. Tooth decay and gum damage are the real deal: They can be permanent. And gum disease has been linked to other body-wide problems, including heart disease. But it's also largely preventable. Make one appointment. If you get cleaned up and checked for cavities, you might be okay limiting your checkups to every couple years, Dr. Wolff says.

Health Check up
Getty Images

2 Things You Can Get Away With

1. A crazy irregular sleep schedule

“We tend to get more deep sleep when we’re younger,” says Men’s Health sleep advisor W. Christopher Winter, M.D. In other words, the sleep you do get likely counterbalances bingeing on Netflix into the wee hours or staying up till sunrise, he says. Not every night, though. If your schedule is completely off, the best workaround is to aim for at least 49 hours of sleep over the week. But that's only for now; as you get older, you lose your reserve and deep sleep is harder to come by, so a crazy schedule will leave you ragged, hungry, and just feeling lousy. If only you could bank sleep now for later.

2. Those two (three?) times you did ecstasy

“We don’t have evidence of long-term so-called brain damage from short-term or intermittent use of these substances,” says Wilson Compton, M.D., deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “I wouldn’t expect someone who had no noticeable complications at the time to have problems 10 or 20 years later.” Long-term use is different. Ecstasy acts on two still--developing brain regions, those for judgment and for memory formation, and long-term, chronic use has been linked to negative changes in both.

This article originally appeared on Men's Health

  • Health
  • Life
Cassie Shortsleeve
Cassie Shortsleeve
Cassie is a freelance writer and editor with a focus on health, fitness, lifestyle, and travel; freelance editing; brand extensions; web content creation; custom content; and blogging.

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Recommended to you

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

The Health Council Is Advising No More Than 10 Drinks A Week, So Steady On

The Health Council Is Advising No More Than 10 Drinks A Week, So Steady On

Hangover-Free Alcohol Could Be On Our Shelves In Just a Few Years

Hangover-Free Alcohol Could Be On Our Shelves In Just a Few Years

How Binge Drinking Just Once Can Mess With Your Sleep Forever

How Binge Drinking Just Once Can Mess With Your Sleep Forever

Alcohol More Harmful To The Brain Than Marijuana

Alcohol More Harmful To The Brain Than Marijuana

{headline}

{headline}

3 Gross Things That Happen to Your Face When You Drink and Smoke

3 Gross Things That Happen to Your Face When You Drink and Smoke

Here's What Just One Night of Binge Drinking Does to Your Body

Here's What Just One Night of Binge Drinking Does to Your Body

Meet Your New Inspiration, The Quadriplegic Doctor Slash Lawyer

Meet Your New Inspiration, The Quadriplegic Doctor Slash Lawyer

{headline}

{headline}

6 Health and Nutrition Trends Set To Kick Off This Year

6 Health and Nutrition Trends Set To Kick Off This Year

This New Science-backed Energy Drink is 100 per cent Natural

This New Science-backed Energy Drink is 100 per cent Natural

10 Health And Fitness Instagram Accounts That Are Inspiring Us To Take On 2021

10 Health And Fitness Instagram Accounts That Are Inspiring Us To Take On 2021

Drinking More In Isolation? You're Certainly Not Alone

Drinking More In Isolation? You're Certainly Not Alone

How To Set Up Your Work From Home Space

How To Set Up Your Work From Home Space

Government Orders Shutdown Of Gyms And Indoor Sporting Venues

Government Orders Shutdown Of Gyms And Indoor Sporting Venues

Is Popcorn A Healthy Snack?

Is Popcorn A Healthy Snack?

MensHealth
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe to Digital
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe to Digital
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

Brands

  • Women's Health

Our Network

  • Paragon Media Pty Ltd
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from Men's Health

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe Now-

Shop This Offer
Subscribe Now