Overview
Binge drinking is used casually to refer to a period of heavy drinking, but the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines it specifically as drinking enough alcohol to raise blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08% or higher. That’s also the standard legal limit for driving in the United States. For the average person, this means consuming 4-5 standard drinks in the span of roughly two hours. Anecdotally, a lot of people I’ve met who actively drink overestimate the amount needed before it’s considered binge drinking, or only use the term “binge drinking” in the context of “problem drinking” rather than the “weekend warrior” routine.