Know Your Limit - Alcohol
A key component of a healthy relationship with alcohol is to experience its effects without placing yourself or others at increased risk for negative outcomes. Alcohol takes time to enter your bloodstream, so pacing your drinks is very important. Giving your body time and paying attention to how you're feeling can help you understand how intoxicated you are.
So, what is a safer amount for you?
If you choose to drink, we recommend gradually reaching a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of no more than .06%. As the chart below indicates, a BAC between .01% and .06% is typically associated with feeling 'buzzed' or 'tipsy.' Staying within this range helps to reduce the change of negative outcomes associated with alcohol consumption from occurring.
A BAC Estimator can help you approximate how many standard drinks it takes to reach .06% and remain in the 'social zone.' Notice how biological sex, weight, and time spent drinking all affect a person's BAC as well.
Progressive Effects of Alcohol
The chart below outlines both the typical inward experiences and the outward behaviors associated with increasing levels of alcohol in a person's bloodstream. Because there are numerous factors that can influence how a person reacts to and experiences the effects of alcohol, this chart is best viewed as a guide. If a person is tolerant of alcohol, they might feel differently and present themselves differently than these guidelines suggest.
| Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) | Inward Experience | Outward Behaviors |
|---|---|---|
| .01%-.06% Social Zone | Slight euphoria Sense of relaxation Feel ‘tipsy’ Lower inhibitions Thought process slowed Lowered alertness Judgment and caution reduced Coordination slightly impaired |
Joyous Relaxed Loss of inhibition – more outgoing, talkative, and social |
| .06%-.10% Risky Zone | Dulled sensations Further lowering of inhibitions Impaired sexual pleasure Impaired depth/distance perception Judgment and coordination increasingly impaired |
Slowed reflexes Reasoning impaired Risk-taking increases Extroversion increases: even more talkative, louder, boisterous |
| .10%-.20% Upper Risky Zone | Feeling fatigued Euphoria diminishes, severely impaired judgment and perception Severely impaired gross motor coordination |
Staggering, stumbling Slurred speech Slowed reaction time Less/no visible pain response Emotional swings or over-expression of emotions, possibly anxious or uneasy Nausea and Vomiting |
| .20%-.30% Danger Zone | Memory blackout Loss of understanding, comprehension Further dulling of sensations |
Uncontrolled Vomiting Stupor – no sense or sensibility Extreme sluggishness Inability to stand or sit uprightUnconscious/passed out/unresponsive |
| .30% -.40% Extreme Danger Zone | Unconsciousness or coma Death possible |
Unconscious/passed out/unresponsive Slow or irregular breathing Bluish, cold or clammy skin Slowed heart rate Loss of bladder function |
| >.40% Extreme Danger Zone | Unconsciousness or coma Death likely |
Unconscious/passed out/unresponsive Slow or irregular breathing Bluish, cold or clammy skin Slowed heart rate |