How To Increase Your Drinking Tolerance So You Don’t Make an Ass of Yourself at a Holiday Party

Your nervous system communicates through inhibitory and excitatory chemicals. GABA is an inhibitory chemical that slows down activity when it’s time to rest and relax. A period of heavy drinking may cause your brain to respond by producing fewer inhibitory chemicals and more excitatory chemicals. This may start to counteract the effects of alcohol, leading to diminishing effects over time.

Side Effects of Alcohol Tolerance

Those with lower alcohol tolerances do not need to worry, but should still be aware of their limitations and drink appropriately if they choose to drink. It may be a good idea for those with a full alcohol intolerance to see a doctor to rule out any potential medical causes, and to undergo allergy testing. Developing sudden-onset alcohol intolerance does not mean you have a medical condition. However, it’s always a good idea to be checked by a doctor—especially if you’ve noticed any other concerning symptoms in your general health. Sudden onset alcohol intolerance is when an alcohol intolerance that was not present from birth occurs abruptly later on in life.

Alcohol Tolerance as You Age: What to Know as You Get Older

And a high tolerance can mean you drink more, particularly to get the same effects of alcohol that you’re used to. Alcohol tolerance on the other hand, refers to the way a person’s body reacts to the same amount of alcohol over time or with continued drinking. While alcohol sensitivity is often referred how to increase alcohol tolerance to as ‘intolerance’, a condition in which someone’s body rejects alcohol, sensitivity has very different effects. It is a common misnomer to equate alcohol sensitivity to alcohol tolerance. The helpline at AddictionResource.net is available 24/7 to discuss the treatment needs of yourself or a loved one.

More in Improve your health

• Can you build up a tolerance to alcohol just because you’re taller or larger?
• When you’re whizzing like a donkey every ten minutes, you aren’t just losing water, you’re losing some important nutrients.
• It converts alcohol into acetaldehyde (a very toxic intermediate product) and later converts it into water and carbon dioxide.
• If not, flavored sparkling water or a good ‘ol mocktail can ease the transition.

We’re not saying we never do this, we’re just saying that you should be careful when you do. How long it takes to reset one’s alcohol tolerance varies from person to person and typically depends on the duration and frequency of drinking. However, most cases of alcohol tolerance can be reset within one to two months of abstinence.

Individuals with health conditions like liver disease or diabetes may have low alcohol tolerance. People who rarely drink may also find that they have low alcohol tolerance. There are several reasons why a person may have a high alcohol tolerance. Genetic factors and lifestyle choices can predispose a person to have a high tolerance for alcohol. Your overall health and physical condition may also play a role in your building alcohol tolerance.

• According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), more than 17 million people were struggling with an alcohol use disorder in 2014.
• For instance, if you drank five beers — one beer per night, five days per week — you would have a lesser tolerance compared to someone drinking five beers in one night, once per week.
• Researchers have found there are a few different types of tolerance that people develop in response to alcohol use.

Instead of a bonfire, it’s a pool party, and instead of beer, you try another type of alcohol. It’s always important to be mindful and honest with yourself about how many glasses you are consuming and how often. With that in mind, like most doctors, Dr. Schwartz would suggest working on cutting out alcohol versus working on getting your body to better tolerate it. Thinking about the price of getting sick can certainly help meet Dr. Schwartz’s recommendation. If not, flavored sparkling water or a good ‘ol mocktail can ease the transition.

Metabolic Tolerance Can Lead to Liver Damage