Research Paper On Binge Drinking

The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Will Not Solve Binge Drinking In College Students Since 1984, the minimum legal drinking age has been twenty-one (Fact Sheets - Age 21). Many people have been debating whether or not that age should be lowered, especially people with ties to colleges or students in college. These people believe that if the age were lowered, the problem with binge drinking in college students would be solved. Despite what many people may think, lowering the drinking age will most likely not solve the problem of binge drinking among college students. Instead of solving the problem of binge drinking, problems would be created that were not realized before. The minimum legal drinking age needs to stay as it is. Over ninety
Since the human brain is still developing until about the age of twenty-five, drinking heavily while underage could affect the drinker’s brain (Alcohol’s). Excessive drinking can lead to damaging nerve cells in the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning. Underage drinking can also lead to a smaller prefrontal lobe, which is the area of the brain that changes the most and is responsible for decision-making, language, and judgement (Binge Drinking). The damage that is caused by drinking while underaged would be much worse than it is currently if the minimum legal drinking age is lowered because many more people whose brains are still developing would be able to drink
College life can be very stressful, and students typically try to find a way to cope with said stress. Stress can be one of the reasons students turn to binge drinking (Binge Drinking). Binge drinking can also cause a student to feel “numb” and let go of all of their worries for a short amount of time. Aside from binge drinking, there are plenty of ways to help cope with stress, such as getting enough sleep (seven to nine hours) and eating a healthy diet (Reed). Another reason that college students could turn to binge drinking could be a desire to fit in (Binge Drinking). An incoming freshman could come into college a completely clean student with no desire to touch alcohol unless it is in a chemistry lab. However, when this student interacts with some of the older students, who love to drink, things may change. Possibly, the freshman could decide to go to a local party where many people could be drinking alcohol and pressure the freshman to drink. Not wanting to seem like an outsider, he could decide to take the drink and not refuse any more for the rest of the night. Instead of going to a party where something may happen, the student could decide to go somewhere that is safer. There are countless reasons that a student in college could start to binge drink, so why try to put a single rule into place that is supposed to cover all of the