Can Alcohol Stunt Growth?

In today’s culture, it seems we’re forever trying to find ways to further our growth, whether emotionally, financially, socially, or physically. But when we introduce alcohol into our “growth mindset” and way of living, we can stunt our growth in countless ways.

As alcohol touches the lives of so many young adults and adolescents, it’s important to take a hard look at its detrimental effects. Let’s further examine the permanent influence that alcohol has on growth, especially during critical developmental stages.

Understanding Growth and Development

Adolescence and young adulthood are 
periods of critical emotional and physical development. Puberty, for example, initiates reproductive maturity and great hormonal changes. Negative influences during puberty have long-term consequences.

Adolescent growth ends when the growth plates in the bones harden, which usually happens after puberty — around age 15 for girls and age 17 or 18 for boys. However, our brain — specifically, the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which regulates our thoughts, actions, and emotions — continues to develop into our mid-to-late 20s. Changes in the growth of our brain have lasting impacts on all of these areas, in addition to memory, learning, and ability to reason.

Alcohol significantly impairs functioning during adulthood, but drinking during adolescence can have even greater impacts. Research shows that binge drinking is more common among adolescents than adults, which, when combined with a still-developing PFC, increases the chance of risk-taking behaviors. Alcohol use also affects growth and development.

How Does Alcohol Stunt Growth?

Growth occurs until adulthood, but most of our growth happens during puberty. What we know as a “growth spurt” typically happens during puberty. Alcohol has been shown to induce suppression of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1), which plays a large role in puberty and physical growth.

Drinking during adolescence has also been associated with delays in puberty, which can interfere with the maturation and normal development of our organ systems — directly affecting growth and development. Another way that alcohol plays a part in stunting our growth is through disruptions in our sleep. During sleep, our body produces hormones that help us grow. Not only in height, but through repairing tissue and building muscle.

Alcohol’s Impact on Muscle Growth

Not only does alcohol stunt physical growth and development, but it also restricts muscle growth. It does this through three main disruptions.

1. Protein synthesis. Alcohol impairs protein synthesis, which is the process by which cells make proteins. Muscle growth occurs when protein synthesis is greater than the breakdown. Alcohol reduces the rate of protein synthesis, so even when supplementing with pricey protein powders and bars, muscle growth can still be decreased.
2. Growth hormone. Drinking affects multiple hormones in our body that aid in the muscle-building process. It decreases testosterone and human growth hormone, increases our stress hormone, and induces insulin resistance. By disrupting these hormones in our body, alcohol effectively inhibits muscle development.
3. Muscle recovery. Alcohol disrupts our sleep cycle, which is vital to tissue regeneration and restoration. It can also dehydrate our body, starving it of essential nutrients our cells need for muscle growth. 

Through disruptions in multiple systems and hormones in our body, we’ve concluded that alcohol has negative effects on our growth and development in general and even more so during puberty. Let’s take a look at another critical developmental stage — pregnancy.

Can Alcohol Stunt Growth During Pregnancy?

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is not recommended in any amount. Not only does alcohol stunt the growth of the baby, it has serious permanent effects on the baby’s development. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy causes a multitude of complications known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). This spans a range of conditions, including the following:

• Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS causes abnormalities in growth and the central nervous system. This may include abnormalities on the face, learning disabilities, and mental disabilities. FAS is the most severe consequence of drinking during pregnancy and can cause fetal death or a broad range of issues after birth.
• Alcohol-related birth defects. Alcohol can cause a broad range of physical changes or disabilities. Defects can occur in the baby’s heart, bones, kidneys, hearing, and bone structure. Systemic issues involve damage to hearing, vision, and brain growth.
• Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorders (ARND). Neurodevelopmental disorders include learning disabilities, developmental delays, and intellectual disabilities. Children with ARND may have issues with memory, attention, impulse control, and understanding of school subjects.
• Neurobehavioral disorders. Children with neurobehavioral disorders may have problems in the areas of memory, behavior, and daily living. 

So far, we’ve determined that alcohol has dramatic impacts on physical development and growth during pregnancy. Now, let’s take a look at how alcohol can influence a growing brain.

How Does Alcohol Impact a Developing Brain?

Drinking while our brain is still developing impacts two main areas — the hippocampus and prefrontal lobe. Research shows that alcohol misuse during development reduces the rate of brain growth and volume of these areas. 

It goes without saying that all areas of the brain are important to our overall function. However, the hippocampal and prefrontal regions typically develop last, as they deal with our executive or higher cognitive functions.

The hippocampus controls our memory and learning whereas the prefrontal lobe deals with our decision-making skills, planning, emotional regulation, and judgment. Impacts on these areas of the brain are shown to increase the risk of developing alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorder (AUD) later in life.

Skills controlled by our hippocampus and prefrontal lobe are crucial in our adulthood, and impairments to these regions can have many negative and lasting consequences. Let’s learn more about what they are to grasp the gravity of the risks of drinking during development.

Dangers of Drinking During Development

According to the CDC, more than 3,900 deaths occur each year from excessive drinking for those under 21 years of age. Along with alcohol-related deaths, drinking during development poses numerous other issues.

1. Health risks. Alcohol is related to a multitude of health issues. Underage drinking causes even more issues, as binge drinking is more common and because overall alcohol consumption adds up over time. Drinking during growth opens the door to abnormal organ function and increases the risk of developing diseases. 
2. Alcohol-related accidents. Alcohol-related accidents are more prevalent in teens and young adults due to the increased risk of dangerous behaviors. Decreased inhibitions and impacts on decision-making skills can lead to increased risk of sexual activity, alcohol-related driving incidents, and alcohol poisoning from binge drinking.
3. Mental health effects. Drinking during development increases the risk of developing mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders. Underage drinking also increases the risk of developing alcohol use disorder, which is also heavily correlated with co-occurring mental health issues.
4. Impacts on brain development. Through impacting the proper development of our brain, alcohol can cause impairments in our memory, decision-making, social skills, and critical thinking.
5. Influences on future goals. Underage drinking can impact an adolescent’s future goals through disruption of education or employment. Risky behavior can lead to legal problems that can have lasting effects on an adult’s ability to complete education or obtain and maintain employment.

Through the many consequences, we see the extensive interference that drinking during development leads to causes Let’s take a look at some ways we can go about it to have a more positive impact.

Is Alcohol Stunting My Growth?

If you’re concerned that drinking may be affecting your growth, don’t worry: every day is a new day to start growing in new ways. Whether you’re young and still growing up, or you’re struggling to make gains in the gym, or you feel stuck in life and you think alcohol may be interfering with your flourishing — there’s hope.

Start by assessing your relationship to alcohol. Take a few days (or a week) to track your cravings, your drinks, and your thoughts. Reflect on how your life would be different without alcohol. If you think drinking is harming your well-being, it may be time to get sober-curious or take a break with a 30-day challenge.

If you decide it’s time to change your relationship with alcohol, check out our blog on how to stop drinking and consider joining the Reframe app — a community of people on similar journeys to quit or cut back on alcohol.

A Parent’s Perspective on How To Approach Underage Drinking

Approaching a conversation about drinking with the young adult in your life may not be easy. The teenage years can be a turbulent time socially and emotionally. Some ways that parents or other adults can help adolescents develop a more positive relationship include the following actions:

• Educate. Clearly communicating and educating adolescents on the detrimental effects of underage drinking and alcohol in general helps them make more informed and intentional choices. Understanding the reason why underage drinking is illegal and how it may impact them in the future paints a clearer picture than just setting strict rules.
• Set a good example. We are the most easily influenced during our adolescent years. Have you ever accidentally said a “bad word” just to have a kid in the family pick up on it immediately and start repeating it? Kids learn by observing those around them; setting a good example around drinking is crucial for developing positive habits. 
• Develop rules. There may be laws in place for underage drinking, but they aren’t always enforced — especially when alcohol use can be hidden behind closed doors. Setting strict rules and making consequences clear shows how serious the issue is.
• Address other factors. Aside from social pressure, drinking habits may stem from other issues in our life. Alcohol’s stimulant and depressant effects can temporarily increase our mood and serve as an escape or coping mechanism for other problems. Addressing the root of the issue can help reduce the consumption of alcohol. 
• Explore treatment options. If we are concerned about our teens’ underage drinking or alcohol misuse, there are plenty of professional treatment options to explore. Addressing the problem early helps to minimize the negative impacts of alcohol and prevents further dependence and complications. 

For more thoughts on how to nurture your teen through recovery from alcohol misuse, head over to our blog titled “How To Help Your Teen With Alcohol Recovery.”

The Next Phase

Alcohol has the power to impact all facets of our growth. From wide-ranging effects on fetal development to negative impacts on puberty and brain maturation in adolescents, to the inhibition of physical and emotional development of adults, alcohol can have dramatic impacts at every stage of life.

Beyond abstaining from alcohol during pregnancy, adolescence is the most impactful and important time to consider alcohol’s effects on growth. By understanding the seriousness of underage drinking and its consequences, we can be better prepared to handle it.