What is binge drinking? It’s drinking enough, fast enough, to bring your blood alcohol concentration to 0.08 percent or higher. For most adults, that means 5 or more drinks for men, or 4 or more for women, in about 2 hours. That’s the definition from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
Notice what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t mention a weekend-long bender, drinking every day or being an alcoholic. A single Friday night with five beers in two hours counts. That’s part of why so many people binge drink without ever thinking of it that way.
What Counts as Binge Drinking?
The core is quantity over time. Four or five drinks spread across an afternoon barbecue with food is different from the same amount poured down before the game starts. The CDC puts it simply: four or more drinks for women, or five or more for men, on one occasion.
NIAAA has a separate category, heavy drinking, for the overall pattern: for men, 5 or more drinks on any day or 15 or more a week; for women, 4 or more on any day or 8 or more a week. You can binge without drinking heavily week to week, and plenty of people do both.
What counts as one drink
This is where most people undercount. A U.S. standard drink holds about 14 grams of pure alcohol. NIAAA’s examples:
| Drink | One standard drink is about |
|---|---|
| Regular beer (about 5% alcohol) | 12 fl oz |
| Malt liquor (about 7%) | 8 to 10 fl oz |
| Table wine (about 12%) | 5 fl oz |
| Distilled spirits (about 40%) | 1.5 fl oz shot |
A pint of craft IPA, a heavy restaurant pour of wine or a mixed drink with two shots can each be closer to two drinks. Four “drinks” at a bar can easily be six standard ones.
How Common Is Binge Drinking?
Very. According to NIAAA, 60.3 million American adults, about 23.5 percent, reported binge drinking in the past month in the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The CDC calls binge drinking the most common way people drink too much.
Is a Binge Drinker an Alcoholic?
Not necessarily, and the phrase “binge alcoholic” mixes up two different things. Binge drinking describes a pattern on a given night. Alcohol use disorder, what most people mean by alcoholism, is a medical condition defined by losing control over drinking. The CDC notes that most people who drink too much don’t have alcohol use disorder.
That’s not a free pass. Regular binge drinking is one of the main roads into alcohol use disorder, and some people with AUD drink in binges rather than daily. Our post on binge drinking vs. alcoholism walks through how to tell them apart.
Warning Signs of a Binge Drinking Problem
A lot of binge drinking hides inside normal social life. Some signs it’s become more than that:
- You drink to get drunk, not to enjoy a drink
- You regularly drink more than you planned
- You’ve had gaps in memory after a night out
- Hangovers are costing you work, school or Sunday church
- You pregame so you don’t have to pay for as many drinks later
- Friends or family have said something
- You feel anxious or low for a day or two after drinking
Memory gaps deserve their own mention. If you’ve woken up unable to remember part of the night, read our post on alcohol blackouts.
Effects of Binge Drinking
Short-term effects
The immediate risks come from high blood alcohol in a short window: car crashes, falls, burns, drownings, fights, sexual assault and unprotected sex. The biggest danger is alcohol overdose, also called alcohol poisoning. NIAAA notes that at high blood alcohol levels, blackouts, passing out and death can occur.
Call 911 right away if someone who’s been drinking is confused, can’t be woken up, is vomiting while barely conscious, has a seizure, is breathing slowly or irregularly, or has clammy, pale or bluish skin. Don’t leave them to sleep it off.
Long-term effects
Repeated binges add up. Over time, heavy drinking is linked to liver damage, high blood pressure and heart problems, certain cancers, memory trouble, depression and anxiety. It also raises the odds of developing alcohol use disorder. According to the CDC, about 178,000 people die each year in the United States from excessive alcohol use.
How to Cut Back
If you binge drink but don’t feel physically dependent, some practical changes go a long way. Decide on a number before you go out and tell someone. Eat first. Alternate every drink with water. Skip shots and drinking games, since speed is what pushes blood alcohol up. Leave earlier than you usually would.
If you try those and keep blowing past your limit, pay attention to that. It may be telling you something a plan alone can’t fix. A counselor, a 12-step group or an outpatient program can help you see the pattern clearly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many drinks is binge drinking?
Generally 5 or more drinks for men, or 4 or more for women, in about 2 hours, enough to bring blood alcohol to 0.08 percent.
Is binge drinking once a week bad?
Yes. Even a single binge carries real risks of injury and alcohol poisoning, and a weekly pattern raises your long-term health risks and your chance of developing alcohol use disorder.
What is a binge alcoholic?
It’s an informal term for someone whose alcohol problem shows up in binges rather than daily drinking. Whether that’s alcohol use disorder depends on loss of control, cravings and consequences, not just the binge pattern.
Can binge drinking turn into alcoholism?
It can. Frequent binge drinking raises the risk of alcohol use disorder over time, especially if it starts young or runs in the family.
Help for Binge Drinking at Covenant Hills
Covenant Hills is a Christian-based treatment center in Orange County, California, offering alcoholism treatment with faith-based and traditional tracks, from residential care to an intensive outpatient program.
If your weekends have started running your weeks, call 800-662-2873 for a free, confidential assessment.
