6 Sneaky signs you may be drinking too much alcohol

So how much alcohol is too much? For women, binge drinking means having four or more drinks in a short period of time, compared to five or more for men.

Prevention.com lists these surprising signs you may be overdoing it:

• You become a daredevil: In the USA, alcohol is a factor in approximately 60% of fatal burn injuries and drownings, 40% of fatal falls and car accidents, and half of all sexual assaults, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
• You’re a weekend warrior: While research shows that having about seven alcoholic beverages per week lowers your risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, abstaining all week only to guzzle five or six glasses in a single sitting negates any of alcohol’s potential health benefits. Moreover, binge drinking can raise blood pressure and interfere with certain medications.
• Drinking just ‘creeps up on you’: Have you ever told yourself you were going to have only a drink or two at happy hour, and before you knew it you’d downed four? One of the clues that you may be a binge drinker is not knowing your limits.

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: Drinking and driving: How much alcohol will put you over the limit?

• Your memory has temporarily gone missing: Alcohol affects everyone differently, but researchers speculate that heavy drinking interferes with how you remember by disrupting a key brain messenger called glutamate, which is linked to memory.
• You let some responsibilities slide: Maybe you’re normally a dedicated parent, but a Saturday night buzz means you have trouble putting the kids to bed. Or you skip your Monday morning spin class because you feel hung-over from the weekend. When drinking is prioritized over your normal day-to-day life, you’re probably in the danger zone.
• People close to you seem concerned: If your family, friends, or co-workers have hinted that they’re worried about you, it’s time to cut back.

READ MORE ON THIS AND OTHER HEALTH-RELATED ISSUES AT PREVENTION.COM

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