Binge drinking may kill people in sleep: experts

Washington: Binge drinking, often perceived as a fun rite of passage among college students, may make people vulnerable to dying in their sleep, experts have
claimed.

Moderate drinking is defined as no more than one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men, translating to seven or fewer drinks per week for women and 14 or fewer drinks per week for men, researchers said.

Binge drinking, which is especially problematic, is defined as four drinks in two hours for women and five drinks in two hours for men. "Alcohol abuse, binge drinking in particular, is thought to be a rite of passage for college students; but in reality it's a very serious health epidemic in US," said Peter Hendricks, associate professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in US.

According to Megan McMurray, also from UAB, drinking alcohol in excess is dangerous and can quite easily lead to death. Overdose of alcohol can occur when a person has blood alcohol content (BAC) sufficient to produce impairments that increase the risk of harm.

"As BAC increases, so does alcohol's effects and risk for harm. Even small increases in BAC can decrease coordination, make a person feel sick and impair judgement," McMurray said. "This can lead to injury from falls or car crashes, leave one vulnerable to sexual assault or other acts of violence, and increase the risk for unprotected, unintended intercourse," she said.

"When BACs get even higher, amnesia or blackouts occur. If a person has signs of alcohol poisoning, it is very dangerous to assume that an unconscious person will be fine by "sleeping it off'," McMurray said.

Alcohol acts as a depressant, impairing basic bodily functions, such as the gag reflex, leaving people vulnerable to choking on their own vomit and dying in their sleep. Alcohol can also irritate the stomach, making the suppression of the gag reflex especially problematic.

"Binge drinking is perceived as a lighthearted, fun and humorous rite of passage among college students," Hendricks said. "It's crucial to communicate the dire risks of binge drinking and challenge the notion that alcohol use is a normal and harmless part of the college experience," he said.