Why Can’t Drunk People Walk Straight?

Alcohol is not digested like other foods. The drink is filled with empty calories and does not contain useful nutrients that can be absorbed by the small intestines, which is responsible for 90% of digestion. Since there are no useful nutrients in alcohol, it skips the time-consuming digestive process and gets absorbed directly into the bloodstream.

Once in the blood stream, alcohol circulates throughout the body, including the cerebellum portion in the midbrain. The cerebellum, which controls muscular activity, loses its ability to provide coordinated movement and balance.

Alcohol also causes the viscosity of the fluid in the inner ear to become less dense. The fluid helps with the brain’s interpretation of balance. There are tender hair cells that touch the fluid and are connected to the brain which start moving more easily. This movement of hair cells sends incorrect signals to the already impaired brain resulting in exaggerated and overcompensated movements of the body.