What really happens inside your body after you drink alcohol? Alcohol doesn’t just stay in your stomach. Within minutes, it enters your bloodstream and reaches your brain — where it begins shutting systems down one by one. First, it slows the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for judgment, self-control, and decision-making. That’s why people feel confident, fearless, and careless after drinking. Then alcohol attacks the cerebellum — the center for balance and coordination. Br