College: a time when young men and women often trade moderation for countless nights spent hugging their dorm room toilets. But those nights can be avoided and part of mastering your collegiate career is learning how. In honor of April being Alcohol Awareness Month—rather than toasting it—here are four things you should know about alcohol in order to be as safe as possible.
Binge drinking qualifies as fewer drinks than you’d think
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heavy drinking is defined as eight or more drinks per week for women and 15 or more drinks per week for men. The CDC calls binge drinking “the most common form of drinking” and further elaborates it as four or more drinks during the course of one occasion for women and five or more during one occasion for men. The best way to avoid the dangerous behavior and consequences of binge drinking is to keep a conscious track of your drinks. Find a way that works for you—keep a tally in your iPhone notes or even draw it on the inside of your wrist. If you make a note of each drink before you drink it, it will be easier to slow down when you need to.
Drinking can be dangerous
In the haze of beer pong and flip cup, it can be easy to forget that drinking can result in death. According to stats from the NIAAA, 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries. More than 690,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking and more than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.
Know the signs of alcohol poisoning
Binge drinking makes your body incapable of processing alcohol, causing the blood alcohol concentration to rise. According to the CDC, signs and symptoms range from “minimal impairment, decreased judgment and control, slurred speech, reduced muscle coordination, vomiting and stupor to coma and death.” Know the signs so a night at the bars doesn’t have to end in a trip to the hospital, or worse.
Drinking responsibly is doable
At most colleges, alcohol is as abundant as essays and lab reports, but as long as you’re careful when you indulge, you can get A’s all around. Eat first, travel in pairs, alternate your drinks with water, don’t accept drinks from strangers and above all, pay attention to your body and how you feel.
