Why Does Alcohol Create Tunnel Vision?

Anyone who has ever been drunk, or been through a  drug prevention program (such as  D.A.R.E), and has worn a pair of drunk-goggles, will tell you that eyesight can be majorly impaired by intoxication. Even if you haven’t had the experience of having your eyesight altered by alcohol, or alcohol googles, it is fairly common knowledge that alcohol consumption leads to loss of inhibitions, hand-eye coordination, and altered sight. Altered sight is meant to suggest that your vision begins to tilt, spin, or you develop tunnel vision (Mafredi, n.d), not that you go blind. That being said, heavy drinking over an extended period of time can lead to blindness, as well as a host of other body-deteriorating conditions (Desination Hope, 2012).

Tunnel vision is what happens when you are literally only able to see and or focus on the thing directly in front of you (Bedinghaus, n.d.). Your peripheral vision leaves you completely, which has an effect on your reactions to things as well as your balance. Without your peripheral vision you are unable to register your surroundings(Manfredi, n.d.). In most cases this is just a temporary effect and once you sleep it off your eyes will be back to normal. However, with chronic drinking, this state of tunnel vision could become permanent (Rebuild Your Vision, n.d.).

We know that alcohol has many different effects on the body, but why does tunnel vision happen exactly? When you consume alcohol, especially in large quantities, you’re actually killing the cells in your eyes. If given time, your eyes will reproduce cells and thus, heal themselves. Chronic drinkers do not allow their eyes this healing time, which can lead to permanent blindness (Destination Hope, 2012).

-Cassey

SOURCES
Mafredi, Theodoros. (n.d.) Causes of Tunnel Vision. Retrieved from: http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15566/1/Causes-of-Tunnel-Vision.html

Destination Hope. (2012). How Alcohol Abuse Impacts Your Eyes. Retrieved from: http://www.drugrehabfl.net/2012/10/01/how-alcohol-abuse-impacts-your-eyes/

Rebuild Your Vision.(n.d.) How Alcohol Affects Your Eyes. Retrieved from: http://www.rebuildyourvision.com/blog/food-for-your-eyes/how-alcohol-affects-your-eyes/

Bedinghaus, Troy. (2014). How Does Drinking Alcohol Affect Your Eyes. Retrieved from: http://vision.about.com/od/eyeexaminations/f/How-Does-Drinking-Alcohol-Affect-Your-Eyes.htm

Dean, Jeremy. (2010). What Alcohol Does To Your Mind: Attentional Myopia. Retrieved from: http://charbonniers.org/2010/03/31/

http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/03/psychology-of-alcohol-attentional-myopia.php

edited by: Tatum Wilson