beer on desk with notebooks | binge drinking among college students is linked to lower academic performance
Read time: 7 min

Note: The legal drinking age is 21.

After a hard day or week, some of us look forward to unwinding with a drink or two. And, sometimes, a few drinks turn into a few more. When you’re over the legal drinking age, can still function in your daily life, and are mentally healthy, it’s no big deal, right?

Maybe not. First, those few drinks may actually equal a binge (more on this in a minute). Second, research shows the effects of those drinks on our brains linger—in other words, drinking can have an impact on us beyond the night of or the morning after. It can last well into the week, when we’re working on papers or prepping for exams.

What is binge drinking, exactly?

You’ve likely heard the term “binge drinking,” but what you might not know is that the amount of alcohol considered a “binge” is probably less than you think. It’s defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting (for those assigned female at birth), and five or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting (for those assigned male at birth).

When we asked students how often they drank four to five (or more) alcoholic drinks in one sitting (the definition of binge drinking): 71% said never 25% said once a month or less frequently 4% said more frequently than once a month

“During a binge, you drink at a level that gets your blood alcohol to 0.08 percent and higher,” says Dr. Aaron White, senior scientific advisor to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in Washington, DC. “That’s also the level for which it is illegal for adults to drive a [vehicle].”

Many of your peers drink less than you might think. College students tend to vastly overestimate the extent of each other’s drinking, according to a recent CampusWell survey.

College students who said they’d never used alcohol

  • Students’ guesstimate 2%
  • Reality 44%

College students who said they’d drunk alcohol within the last 30 days

  • Students’ guesstimate 81%
  • Reality 33%

Not as much as Hollywood movies might have you believe. 

When we asked students how often they drank four to five (or more) alcoholic drinks in one sitting (the definition of binge drinking):

  • 71% said never
  • 25% said once a month or less frequently
  • 4% said more frequently than once a month

The impact of binge drinking on the young adult brain

While some heavy drinkers may appear clinically healthy, their brain chemistry may be compromised, especially in young adults.

That’s because the frontal lobe rapidly matures well into our twenties. This developmental period is critical for “functions such as information processing, decision-making, and impulse control,” says Dr. Yasmin Mashhoon, a clinical development scientist at Alexion Pharmaceuticals in Boston, Massachusetts. 

College students who said they’d never used alcohol Students’ guesstimate 2% Reality 44% College students who said they’d drunk alcohol within the last 30 days Students’ guesstimate 81% Reality 33%Alcohol and memory

“Alcohol use in young drinkers is associated with a reduction in different domains of memory by up to 14 percent,” says Dr. Marisa Silveri, a neuroscientist at McLean Hospital and associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

These deficits affect working, verbal, and spatial memory, and may linger for several days after drinking. “It could translate to the difference between an A and B or passing versus failing—or, more importantly, making safe choices versus failing to inhibit poor choices, like driving while intoxicated,” says Dr. Silveri.

Altered brain structure and function

Dr. Silveri and her colleagues studied and compared the brain structure of college-aged light and heavy drinkers (light being an average of 1.5 drinks per week, and heavy being almost 12 drinks per week). Among the heavy drinkers, researchers found:

  • Impaired control, self-perception, and self-care; greater risk-taking; and worse academic or occupational consequences compared to the light drinkers.
  • Lower levels of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), the most important inhibitory (calming) neurotransmitter, in the frontal lobe. Deficiencies in GABA are associated with a range of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and insomnia.
  • Lower levels of the metabolite NAA (N-acetylaspartate). Deficiencies in NAA are associated with impaired neuronal health, which can affect how we behave and our capacity for decision-making.

Strategies for safer alcohol consumption

  1. Wondering what counts as one drink? That’s 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. (Note that these limits may also be too high for certain people based on their medical history or age; if you have questions about this, take some time to speak with your health care provider.)Keep track of how many drinks you’re consuming. 
  2. Determine in advance not to exceed a set number of drinks. Practice ways to politely but firmly decline when others pressure you to drink beyond this pre-set amount. (E.g., “Thanks, but I need to get up early tomorrow!” or “I am still working on this one.”)
  3. Alternate non-alcoholic drinks (like water, soda, or juice) with alcoholic ones.
  4. Avoid drinking games (or play with water).
  5. Eat before and/or during drinking.
  6. Have a friend around who isn’t drinking in case you or someone else needs help.
  7. Pace alcoholic drinks to no more than one per hour—sip, don’t chug.
  8. Stay with the same group of friends the entire time when drinking.
  9. Stick with only one kind of alcohol when drinking.
  10. Use a designated driver.

What students say about the effect of alcohol on their academic performance

In a recent CampusWell survey, 59 percent of respondents said they thought a night of heavy drinking impacted their academic performance over the next few days.

“My short-term memory is affected.”
—Patrick M.*, fourth-year student, Montana State University Billings

“After a lot of drinking, I simply don’t feel good. My energy levels are low, and I feel less motivated to work or study.”
—Natalie L.*, fifth-year student, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado

“I feel fatigue [and] mental sluggishness.”
—Derek P.*, fifth-year student, University of Kansas

“I don’t drink, but I have friends who do. After they do, they seem to have a hard time attending class and staying focused.”
—Ariana S.*, third-year student, Utah State University 

*Name changed

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Article sources

Yasmin Mashhoon, PhD, clinical development scientist, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Boston, Massachusetts

Marisa Silveri, PhD, neuroscientist, McLean Hospital, Belmont; associate professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Aaron White, PhD, senior scientific advisor, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Washington, DC

American College Health Association. (2017). American College Health Association—National College Health Assessment II: Fall 2017 Reference Group Executive Summary. https://www.acha.org/documents/ncha/NCHA-II_FALL_2017_REFERENCE_GROUP_EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.pdf

Aware Awake Alive. (2012). Quick facts. https://issuu.com/awareawakealive/docs/quick-facts/1?e=4770211/6217922

CampusWell survey, December 2018 and June 2022.

Kanny, D., Liu, Y., Brewer, R. D., Eke, P. I., et al. (2013). Vital signs: Binge drinking among women and high school girls. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 62(1), 9–13. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6201a3.htm

Mashhoon, Y., Czerkawski, C., Crowley, D. J., Cohen-Gilbert, J. E., et al. (2014). Binge alcohol consumption in emerging adults: Anterior cingulate cortical “thinness” is associated with alcohol use patterns. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 38(7), 1955–1964. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12475

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (28 May, 2001). How to cut down on your drinking. https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/handout.htm

National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2004). NIAAA council approves definition of binge drinking. NIAAA Newsletter, Winter 2004(3), 3. https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Newsletter/winter2004/Newsletter_Number3.pdf

Silveri, M. M., Cohen-Gilbert, J. E., Crowley, D. J., Rosso, I. M., et al. (2014). Altered anterior cingulate neurochemistry in emerging adult binge drinkers with a history of alcohol-induced blackouts. Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, 38(4), 969–979. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12346

Silveri, M. M., Dager, A. D., Cohen-Gilbert, J. E., & Sneider, J. T. (2016). Neurobiological signatures associated with alcohol and drug use in the human adolescent brain. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 70, 244–259. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5494836/

Sneider, J. T., Cohen-Gilbert, J. E., Crowley, D. J., Paul, M. D., et al. (2013). Differential effects of binge drinking on learning and memory in emerging adults. Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, S7, 006.