Why Alcoholic Blackout Happens and How to Avoid

The term alcoholic blackout refers to the temporary loss of memory that is caused by excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages.

This alcoholic amnesia is caused by an injury that alcohol does in the central nervous system, which leads to oblivion of what happened during the time of the drunkenness. So when the person is drunk he can remember everything normally, but after a brief period of sleep and after the drunkenness passes, a blackout appears where it is difficult to remember what was done the night before, with whom he was or how he got home, for example.

This is a physiological event and a normal and natural response of the body to intoxication with alcoholic beverages.

How to identify

To identify whether or not you suffered from alcoholic blackout, you should answer the following questions:

1. You drank too much from the night before and do not remember some parts of the night?
2. Can not remember which drinks you ingested?
3. Do not know how it got home?
4. Do not you remember meeting friends or acquaintances the night before?
5. Do not know where you've been?

If you answered yes to most of the above questions you are likely to have suffered an alcoholic blackout, caused by excessive intake of alcoholic beverages.

How to avoid alcoholic blackout

To avoid alcoholic blackout the best tip is to avoid alcoholic beverages, but if this is not possible then you should:

• Eat before drinking and every 3 hours, especially after drinking;
• Take activated charcoal before you start drinking because it hinders the absorption of alcohol in the stomach;
• Always drink the same drink, avoiding drinks composed of mixtures of drinks, such as shots or cocktails for example;
• Drink one glass of water before each drink, to ensure hydration.

These tips help not only avoid alcohol blackout but also reduce hangover by helping you consume less alcohol and maintain hydration. See our tips on how to cure hangover faster.

When it is more frequent

Alcoholic blackout occurs most commonly in people who drink with an empty stomach, who are more sensitive to the effects of alcohol or who do not consume alcohol regularly.

In addition, the higher the alcohol content of the drink, the greater the chances of suffering a blackout. For example, absinthe liqueur is the drink with the highest amount of alcohol sold in Brazil and abroad, around 45% alcohol, and also the drink that most easily causes memory losses.