The Brain Dangers of Being “California Sober”

Cali sober, or California sober, is a “newish” term that refers to the benefits of semi-sobriety, or leading a more sober lifestyle than you had before. Followers say they have started drinking less, or swapping out their glass of wine in favor of marijuana or psychedelics like mushrooms.

But is a Cali sober lifestyle safe, or does it still harm your brain, mood, and cognitive function?

WHAT IS “CALI SOBER”?

Before exploring the answer, it’s worth briefly understanding why people choose semi-sobriety in the first place. The singer Demi Lovato (who uses them/their pronouns and has been remarkably generous in sharing details of their struggles with drug abuse and mental health) wrote a song called “California Sober” last year.

“I’m California sober,” crooned Lovato, who came close to dying from a drug overdose in 2018. “It doesn’t have to mean the growing part is over.”

Used to live in fear of always slipping

But living for perfection isn’t living, 

I ran a little slower, now I’m tripping, 

A beautiful and magical beginning.

By consuming fewer, or supposedly less-harmful intoxicants, Cali sober adherents claim they are cleaning up their acts, at least a bit, and are the better for it.

While it’s both logical, and scientifically supported, that reducing consumption of mind-altering substances corresponds to a reduction in physical harm, it does not eliminate it. Far from it, in fact. Mounting research shows that strikingly low levels of alcohol, and other substances, can have far more negative consequences for a person’s brain health—both right away and over the long-term—than is commonly believed.

CALI SOBER AND THE DANGEROUS ALLURE OF ‘JUST ONE DRINK’

One new study, published in Science Daily in August, found that even one drink a day can reduce a person’s brain size. That solo drink can permanently impact the brain’s neurons, the way they interact and the way their mitochondria operate, the study found.

“These results suggest that even a single consumption event can lay the foundation for alcohol addiction,” according to the authors of the study.

The authors used a large data set, scrutinizing brain MRIs from more than 36,000 middle-aged to older adults in the United Kingdom. The scans showed that the white and gray matter in the study participants’ brains shrunk with even light-to-moderate alcohol use. In another finding that supports the central Cali sober idea, the study did reveal that the heaviest alcohol users benefited greatly from cutting back from three glasses to two glasses a night.

But while this is true, it does not address the damage done by such seemingly moderate alcohol consumption.

The news isn’t much better when it comes to embracing marijuana or psychedelics as “healthier” substitutes for drinking.

CALI SOBER AND MARIJUANA: NOT SO INNOCUOUS AFTER ALL

Even using marijuana temporarily can impair the creation of memories and expose people to the risk of cognitive dysfunction as they age, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine. The researchers followed more than 5,000 people for more than 25 years beginning in 1986 through 2011. For every additional five years of marijuana use, participants remembered one fewer word from a list of 15 words.

Adolescents who use cannabis run a higher risk of depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts, according to a 2019 review in JAMA Psychiatry. Equally worrisome, as many as 10% of new cases of psychosis—the temporary inability to distinguish what is real from what isn’t—may be associated with taking high-potency cannabis, according to research in The Lancet Psychiatry.

When it comes to the greatest contributing risk factors in speeding up how quickly a brain ages, the use of cannabis came in second, after schizophrenia, according to an Amen Clinics brain imaging study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. The study involved a review of 62,454 brain SPECT scans, in a collaboration between Amen Clinics, Google, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of California in both Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The study found that while alcohol abuse represented 0.6 years of accelerated aging, cannabis abuse was even worse, representing 2.8 years of accelerated aging. At number one on the list, schizophrenia represented 4 years.

“The cannabis abuse finding was especially important, as our culture is starting to see marijuana as an innocuous substance,” Dr. Daniel Amen said of the investigation. “This study should give us pause about it.

FROM MUSHROOMS TO MOLLY—MORE CAUSE FOR CONCERN IF YOU’RE CALI SOBER

When it comes to psilocybin, the psychoactive chemical in magic mushrooms, more research needs to be done, but early findings suggest people should approach them with caution.

A 2020 brain imaging study in the journal NeuroImage found that psilocybin drug lowers activity in a part of the brain called the claustrum by studying brain scans of people before and after they took the drug.

Although people who take mushrooms famously report effects that range from seeing colors more vividly, to thinking unusual thoughts and feelings of euphoria, it’s not the case for everybody. Some people report nausea, numbness, anxiety, paranoia, panic attacks, fear, and feeling depressed.

And while MDMA, also known by the street drug names Ecstasy or Molly, releases serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine—all neurotransmitters associated with pleasure and well-being—there can be downsides. Levels of serotonin, for example, can be depleted following the use of MDMA, prompting adverse psychological impacts. Regions of the brain associated with impulse control and attention, working memory, and visual information processing can be impacted by long-term MDMA use.

IS CALI SOBER HEALTHY?

Let’s return to the allure of that single glass of wine.

At Amen Clinics, the evidence from brain imaging studies demonstrates that even one glass of beer or wine per day can be directly toxic to brain function. The SPECT scans of people who drink excessively—more than three drinks a week—appear toxic. More generally, alcohol can harm the brain and body in numerous ways. It is associated with:

• Sleep disruption
• Peripheral neuropathies (pain and tingling in hands, legs, and feet). This refers to damage to neurons, especially those in the cerebellum, which is involved in physical and thought coordination, and mood.
• Fatty liver disease
• Malabsorption of vitamin B1, which predisposes people to serious cognitive problems.
• Decreased firing in the prefrontal cortex, the seat of our personalities, and the part of the brain that oversees cognitive decision-making.
• Increased sugar abuse
• Over-stimulated appetite, by keeping a person seated at the table and continuing to eat past the point of feeling full.
• Increased insulin production, which can lower blood sugar levels, impairing decision-making.
• Increased risk of cancer and physical injuries. A known carcinogen, alcohol is associated with 5.8% of all cancer deaths.
• Traffic fatalities. Just under a third of all traffic-related deaths involve alcohol, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA).

It should come as no surprise that the state of California itself—while associated in name with the Cali sober movement—is under no illusions about the risks of semi-sobriety. Electronic signs on California freeways, as elsewhere in the country, continue to flash an unequivocal message: “Buzzed driving is drunk driving.”

To put it simply, no matter all the ways our culture relentlessly romanticizes it, alcohol is not a health food. The only truly healthy relationship with it is entire abstinence, aka a fully sober life, not a semi-sober one.

Given the evidence about the dangers posed by even moderate alcohol consumption, perhaps the fad should be renamed—far more realistically—Cali buzzed. Today, that’s an idea that even Demi Lovato might agree with. Less than a year after their “California Sober” song came out, the singer changed their tune.

“I no longer support my California sober ways,” Lovato said on Instagram in December 2021, sparking widespread headlines regarding the about-face. “Sober sober is the only way to be.”

Substance abuse and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.