At a Glance

Alcohol-related blackouts can be dangerous and increase a person’s risk of injury and other harms. During an alcohol-related blackout, a person is conscious, but later they realize that they don’t remember what happened while they were intoxicated. Blackouts can have consequences, including social, physical, and health effects.

While drinking a lot increases the risk for a blackout, other factors can contribute. Drinking on an empty stomach and drinking large amounts in a short time, such as binge drinking, can also cause a person’s blood alcohol concentration to rise quickly resulting in memory loss.

This page has resources on alcohol-related blackouts, including information about different types of blackouts, factors that increase the risk for blackouts, what are the biological causes for alcohol-related blackouts, why women are generally more susceptible to alcohol-related blackouts, and the potential consequences of blackouts.