After drinking alcohol, it’s common to wonder how long it takes to sober up and get back to your usual state of mind. This question is essential for safety when you’re drinking to prevent dangerous actions like driving while you’re drunk.
You might also hear questions about sobriety timeframes when someone struggles with addiction and is looking for treatment options.
We’ll discuss everything you need to know in this article, from typical timelines to debunking common myths.
Understanding Alcohol Metabolism
First, it’s important to understand how the body processes alcohol after you consume it. Here’s how alcohol metabolism works.
When you drink alcohol, it’ll travel to the stomach and small intestine where it gets processed and absorbed into the bloodstream. Studies show that about 20% of alcohol is absorbed in the stomach and 80% is absorbed in the small intestine.
Once it’s in the bloodstream, it’ll work its way to the brain and travel through the body. This is when you’ll feel the bulk of the alcohol’s effects. You’ll typically feel the full effects after 15 to 45 minutes of having a drink.
Next, the alcohol in the blood will make its way to the liver, where it’ll get metabolized and prepared for elimination from the body. Research shows that the liver can metabolize about one alcoholic beverage per hour. Therefore, if you have several drinks each hour, you’ll feel more and more drunk with lingering effects.
Finally, the last stage of the process is elimination. Most alcohol is eliminated from the body through urine.
What Constitutes as a Standard Drink?
When thinking about this process of alcohol metabolism, it can be helpful to understand what qualifies as a standard drink. That way you know how much the liver can process per hour.
The CDC defines a standard drink as:
- 12 ounces of beer
- 8 ounces of malt liquor
- 5 ounces of wine
- 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits
Therefore, if you happen to have a drink that’s bigger than those sizes, it can take the body longer to process it.
The Average Amount of Time It Takes to Sober Up After Drinking Alcohol
Based on this information, it’s estimated that it takes the average person about an hour to an hour and a half to sober up per drink that they have. For instance, if someone has 3 beers that are all 12 ounces, it could take them between 3 to 4.5 hours to be completely sober after having their last drink.
Factors Influencing Sobriety Timelines
While there are standard definitions for how the average person’s body processes alcohol, the timeline can vary a bit based on individual factors. Those include:
- Body weight and composition: Generally, heavier people may sober up faster and lighter people may take longer to sober up. The more body mass you have, the more fluid is available in the body to dilute the alcohol, which will cause its effects to wear off faster.
- Gender: Women typically have less water per pound of body weight than men, so it can take a woman’s body more time to dilute and metabolize the alcohol.
- Age: Our metabolism tends to slow down as we age. That means it can take older individuals longer to process alcohol.
- Metabolic rate: Metabolism can also vary by person depending on biological and lifestyle factors. For instance, someone who works out frequently will typically have a higher average metabolic rate. Therefore, it could affect how long it takes to metabolize alcohol.
- Liver function: Since the liver is the main organ responsible for metabolizing alcohol, its health and function play a big role. If someone has liver damage or an infection, it can take longer to process alcohol and sober up after drinking.
Debunking Common Myths
There are some common myths and misconceptions about sobering up after drinking alcohol. Let’s review them and why they aren’t true.
Myth #1 – Drinking Coffee
Unfortunately, despite what you may have heard, drinking coffee won’t help you sober up faster. It might seem like it since caffeine is a stimulant that can give you more energy. That said, it doesn’t affect how the body processes alcohol at all.
In fact, the CDC states that combining alcohol and caffeine could be dangerous. It could cause effects like elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate, and dehydration. This could be especially dangerous for anyone with pre-existing health conditions like cardiovascular issues.
Myth #2 – Taking Cold Showers
Taking a cold shower may shock your system and wake you up a bit, but it has no effects on alcohol leaving the body any faster. The only real thing that helps is time and letting the body go through its natural process to eliminate alcohol.
Myth #3 – Exercising
Like the previous myths, exercising and movement may wake you up a bit, but it won’t make alcohol leave your system faster. Plus, it could be dangerous to exercise while drunk since you could slip, fall, and hurt yourself.
Myth #4 – Inducing Vomiting
Once alcohol enters the bloodstream, vomiting won’t help remove it. Plus, regular self-induced vomiting can be dangerous. Studies show it could affect the health of your teeth, esophagus, skin, and internal organs.
Legal and Safety Implications
According to the Alcohol Policy Information System, most states across the U.S. have a blood alcohol content (BAC) maximum of 0.08% to legally drive after drinking. In Utah, the maximum is 0.05%.
It’s possible for it to be unsafe to drive even after one drink, so it’s always best to be cautious in these situations. It can be a good idea to have a designated driver for the group who doesn’t drink at all and makes sure everyone gets home safely.
You should also avoid doing things like operating heavy machinery after drinking since it can be equally as dangerous to yourself and others.
Driving while drunk or other dangerous actions could lead to fines, jail time, and other serious consequences.
Health Considerations
Excessive drinking can lead to serious health effects in the short and long term.
Short-Term Health Effects
Some common short-term health effects from drinking large amounts of alcohol are:
- Injuries: Since alcohol can reduce coordination and affect judgment, it can lead to injuries like accidents, slips, and burns.
- Poor decisions: Impairment from alcohol can also lead to poor decisions in the moment like spending too much money or having unprotected sex.
- Alcohol poisoning: Drinking too much can cause alcohol poisoning. Common signs of it are vomiting, slow breathing, pale skin, low body temperature, and seizures. If a person has serious symptoms like seizures or becoming unconscious, immediate medical attention is required since it can be life-threatening.
Long-Term Health Effects
Long-term excessive alcohol use or addiction can cause:
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Digestive problems
- Liver disease
- Weakened immune system
- Increased risk of cancer
If you or someone you care about is showing signs of alcohol addiction, it’s important to encourage them to get help. Common signs of alcohol addiction include trying to stop and not being able to, having withdrawal symptoms after quitting drinking, or having it affect major parts of their life, social, career, or financial.
Going to a treatment center can be a good first step. Many rehab centers will provide programs that are 30 to 90 days or longer, depending on individual factors, to provide well-rounded help and support.
How United Recovery Project Can Help
We provide medical detox and residential treatment for alcohol and drug addiction at the United Recovery Project. Our team knows just how difficult recovery can be, and we want to be there for you each step of the way through tailored treatment programs based on your needs and a caring and knowledgeable medical support staff.
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, you can reach out today for more information about how we can help.
References
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. “Alcohol Metabolism | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).” www.niaaa.nih.gov, May 2022, https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/alcohol-metabolism
- “Alcohol Facts | Alcoholic Beverage Control.” California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, https://www.abc.ca.gov/education/licensee-education/alcohol-facts/
- CDC. “About Standard Drink Sizes.” Alcohol Use, 23 May 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/standard-drink-sizes/index.html
- CDC. “Effects of Mixing Alcohol and Caffeine.” Alcohol Use, 23 May 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/about-alcohol-use/alcohol-caffeine.html
- Brown, Carrie A., and Philip S. Mehler. “Medical Complications of Self-Induced Vomiting.” Eating Disorders, vol. 21, no. 4, July 2013, pp. 287–294, doi:10.1080/10640266.2013.797317. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23767670/
- “Adult Operators of Noncommercial Motor Vehicles: Data on a Specific Date | APIS – Alcohol Policy Information System.” Nih.gov, 2016, https://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/apis-policy-topics/adult-operators-of-noncommercial-motor-vehicles/12
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Drunk Driving.” NHTSA, United States Department of Transportation, 11 Jan. 2022, https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving
- Mayo Clinic. “Alcohol Poisoning – Symptoms and Causes.” Mayo Clinic, 29 Apr. 2023, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alcohol-poisoning/symptoms-causes/syc-20354386
