There is nothing you can give a drunk person that will make them sober up faster. The liver processes alcohol at a fixed rate of about 7 grams per hour, which works out to roughly one standard drink per hour. No food, drink, supplement, or home remedy can speed that up in any meaningful way. What you can do is keep the person safe and comfortable while their body does the work.
Why Nothing Speeds Up Sobering
Alcohol is broken down almost entirely by the liver, and the liver operates on its own schedule. For a 155-pound person, the average capacity is about 170 to 240 grams of alcohol per day. That’s a steady, predictable pace that doesn’t change based on what you eat, drink, or do after the alcohol is already in your bloodstream.
This means if someone has had five drinks, it will take roughly five hours for their body to clear the alcohol. There is no shortcut. Everything else you do in the meantime is about managing symptoms and preventing harm, not actually reducing their blood alcohol level.
Coffee Does Not Help
This is one of the most persistent myths. Caffeine makes a drunk person feel more alert, but it does not reduce the effects of alcohol on the body. The CDC is clear on this: when caffeine is mixed with alcohol, the alcohol’s impairment stays exactly the same. The person still has slowed reaction times, impaired judgment, and poor coordination.
The real danger is that caffeine creates what researchers call a “wide-awake drunk.” The person feels less intoxicated than they actually are, which can lead them to drink more, try to drive, or take risks they wouldn’t otherwise take. Giving someone coffee after heavy drinking doesn’t make them safer. It can make them overconfident.
Food Helps Before Drinking, Not After
Eating before or during drinking slows the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream, which means a lower peak blood alcohol level at any one time. But eating after someone is already drunk doesn’t reverse anything. The alcohol is already absorbed. A meal at that point might settle their stomach and provide some comfort, but it won’t pull alcohol out of their blood or speed up the liver’s work.
If the person is alert enough to eat safely without choking, simple carbohydrates like bread or crackers are fine. Just don’t expect them to sober anyone up. One small caveat: there is limited evidence that fructose (the sugar in fruit and fruit juice) may modestly increase the rate at which the body clears alcohol. One study found fructose intake increased alcohol clearance rates by roughly 67 to 92 percent and reduced intoxication time by about 40 percent. But this research is preliminary, involved small sample sizes, and hasn’t led to any clinical recommendations. A glass of orange juice won’t hurt, but don’t count on it.
Water Helps With Comfort, Not Sobering
Drinking water is good advice for a drunk person, but not because it speeds up sobering. Research looking at whether water consumption prevents or alleviates hangovers found only a modest effect at best. The amount of water someone drank during a hangover had no relationship to changes in hangover severity. Dehydration and intoxication appear to be two separate consequences of drinking that happen to occur at the same time.
That said, alcohol is a diuretic, and a drunk person is likely losing fluids. Sipping water or an electrolyte drink can ease dry mouth, headache, and general discomfort. It’s one of the most practical things you can offer, just not because it accelerates the timeline.
Cold Showers Are Pointless and Risky
A cold shower will shock a drunk person into feeling temporarily alert, but it has zero effect on blood alcohol levels. Research on cold water immersion and intoxicated individuals found that alcohol does not reduce the body’s “cold shock” response, meaning the person still gasps, hyperventilates, and experiences a rapid heart rate spike. For someone with impaired coordination, standing in a wet shower introduces a real risk of falls and injury. Skip it entirely.
Do Not Give Pain Relievers
It might seem helpful to get ahead of a hangover with a pain reliever, but this is genuinely dangerous. Acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol) combined with alcohol increases the risk of liver toxicity. Clinical studies show this risk is elevated even when the medication is taken shortly after alcohol has cleared the body, especially in people who drink regularly. Ibuprofen and aspirin carry their own risks, since they can irritate the stomach lining, which alcohol has already inflamed. Pain medication should wait until the person is fully sober.
What You Can Actually Do
Since time is the only thing that truly works, your job is to keep the person safe while they wait it out. Here’s what actually matters:
- Offer small sips of water if they’re awake and able to swallow. Don’t force fluids.
- Keep them warm. Alcohol dilates blood vessels, which causes body heat to escape faster. A blanket helps.
- Stay with them. An intoxicated person who falls asleep can vomit and choke. Check on them regularly.
- Don’t let them lie on their back. If they’re falling asleep or losing alertness, place them on their side using the recovery position (described below).
The Recovery Position
If the person is lying down and you’re worried about vomiting, roll them onto their side. Raise the arm closest to you above their head, then gently roll them toward you, protecting their head from hitting the floor. Their head should rest in front of the arm, not on top of it. Tilt the head slightly up to keep the airway open, and tuck the nearest hand under their cheek to hold that position. This keeps vomit from blocking the airway if they throw up while semiconscious. Check on them frequently.
When It’s an Emergency
There is a point where someone has crossed from “very drunk” into alcohol poisoning, and the difference matters. Call 911 if you see any of the following:
- Slow breathing: fewer than 8 breaths per minute
- Irregular breathing: gaps of 10 seconds or more between breaths
- Inability to wake up or difficulty staying conscious
- Seizures
- Clammy skin, bluish or pale skin color
- No gag reflex (if they don’t respond when something touches the back of their throat)
- Extremely low body temperature
Alcohol poisoning can be fatal. Blood alcohol levels can continue rising even after someone stops drinking, because alcohol in the stomach is still being absorbed. A person who seems “just really drunk” can deteriorate quickly. If you’re unsure whether the situation is serious, treat it as serious.