Does alcohol hinder learning ability?
Alcohol and drugs certainly hinder learning. They destroy your brain cells, which gives you less brain to work with. Alcohol also slows down your brain – your reflexes and thinking is measurably slower after one drink than with no alcohol. Your logical thinking is also shut off when you drink, causing you to make poor choices and fail to recognize logical consequences. Other drugs also cause this effect – anything called a depressant or “downer” will do the same as alcohol. Drugs which seem to do the opposite – “uppers” or speed – actually end up with the same effect on learning, because they make your brain unable to slow down enough to focus on anything, and you become more distracted and less able to make good choices.
