There is no way to speed up getting sober. Your liver processes alcohol at a fixed rate of about one standard drink per hour, and nothing you do can change that pace. If you had five drinks, you’re looking at roughly five hours before the alcohol fully clears your system. The only real answer is time.
Why Time Is the Only Thing That Works
Your liver breaks down alcohol at a nearly constant speed regardless of what else you do. One standard drink, which equals 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor, takes approximately one hour to process. This rate doesn’t meaningfully change based on your fitness level, tolerance, or willpower. A person who “handles their alcohol well” still has the same amount of alcohol in their blood as someone who feels wasted after the same number of drinks. Tolerance only changes how drunk you feel, not how drunk you are.
So if you stopped drinking at midnight after four beers, your body won’t fully clear that alcohol until around 4 a.m. at the earliest. And that clock starts from your last drink, not your first.
Coffee, Cold Showers, and Other Tricks That Don’t Work
Coffee does not sober you up. A cold shower does not sober you up. These are persistent myths, but they have zero effect on your blood alcohol level. Caffeine can make you feel more alert, which is actually dangerous because it masks how impaired you still are. You end up with a wide-awake drunk person instead of a sleepy drunk person, but the impairment is identical.
Drinking water won’t lower your blood alcohol concentration either. It will help with dehydration, which is one reason hangovers feel so miserable, but it does nothing to help your liver work faster. The same goes for exercise, fresh air, and energy drinks. None of these change the rate at which alcohol leaves your bloodstream.
Does Eating Help?
Eating before you drink slows alcohol absorption significantly, which means your blood alcohol level rises more slowly and peaks lower. But eating after you’re already drunk has limited effect. One study found that a high-carbohydrate meal reduced peak blood alcohol levels when consumed alongside alcohol, while a high-protein meal had no significant effect. The key point: food only matters when it’s in your stomach before or during drinking. Once alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream, a plate of fries isn’t pulling it back out.
That said, eating something after drinking can help settle your stomach and give your body fuel to recover. It just won’t make you sober faster.
How to Estimate When You’ll Be Sober
Count your drinks, then count the hours from when you stopped. Each standard drink needs roughly one hour of processing time. Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- 3 drinks: About 3 hours after your last drink
- 5 drinks: About 5 hours after your last drink
- 8 drinks: About 8 hours after your last drink
Your body weight also plays a role in how high your blood alcohol level gets in the first place. A 140-pound person who has four drinks reaches an estimated blood alcohol concentration of 0.13%, while a 200-pound person hits about 0.09% from the same amount. Both are well above the 0.08% legal driving limit, but the lighter person has more alcohol to clear and will take longer to get back to zero.
Keep in mind that “feeling fine” is not the same as being sober. Impairment starts well before you feel obviously drunk, and it lingers after you stop feeling the effects. Many people who drive the morning after heavy drinking are still above the legal limit without realizing it.
What Actually Helps While You Wait
Since you can’t speed up the process, focus on making the wait more comfortable and keeping yourself safe. Drink water between alcoholic drinks and especially after you stop. This won’t lower your BAC, but it reduces the headache, nausea, and fatigue that come from dehydration. Sip slowly rather than chugging.
Eat something with carbohydrates if your stomach can handle it. Rest in a comfortable position. If you feel nauseous, lie on your side rather than your back so you won’t choke if you vomit. Avoid taking pain relievers that contain acetaminophen, because your liver is already working hard to process alcohol, and the combination can cause liver damage.
Most importantly, don’t drive. Even if you feel significantly better after a nap, the math may not be in your favor yet.
When Someone Needs Emergency Help
There’s a difference between being drunk and being in danger. Alcohol overdose is a medical emergency, and it kills people who don’t get help in time. Call 911 if you or someone with you shows any of these signs:
- Breathing problems: Fewer than 8 breaths per minute, or gaps of 10 seconds or more between breaths
- Loss of consciousness: Can’t be woken up, or drifts in and out
- Seizures
- Vomiting while unconscious or semiconscious
- Skin changes: Clammy skin, bluish or very pale color, extremely low body temperature
Don’t assume someone will “sleep it off.” Blood alcohol levels can continue to rise after a person stops drinking, because alcohol in the stomach is still being absorbed. A person who seems okay when they pass out can be in serious trouble 30 minutes later.