Maybe you were out on the town or at a wedding and consumed a few drinks. Now you are ready to hit the road and it dawns on you that you may not be sober enough to be driving. So, how long does it take to sober up? Read on for some useful intel on alcohol misuse and the withdrawal process.
Reasons Why You Wonder How Long Does it Take to Sober Up
By now, everyone is aware of the risks associated with alcohol intoxication. Alcohol causes feelings of deep relaxation, which can affect coordination and reflexes. The effects of alcohol intoxication can result in injuries and deaths. In fact, more than 13,000 deaths were attributed to alcohol in each year, 2021 and 2022.
Some of the common reasons why someone might want to know how long it will take to sober up include:
- To be able to safely drive
- To avoid a DUI arrest
- To avoid failing an alcohol breathalyzer test
- To avoid being intoxicated at work
- To adhere to child custody court-ordered conditions
How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System?
The length of time it takes for someone to sober up varies greatly and depends on several factors. All of these factors can impact the blood alcohol concentration in an individual’s blood.
Here are some of the factors that influence the length of time:
- How much alcohol was consumed
- Period of time the alcohol was consumed
- The person’s weight
- The person’s sex
- The person’s body-mass index
- If the person had a meal while drinking
There is no way to expedite the time it takes for alcohol to vacate the system. It simply requires ending the alcohol intake and time for the liver to metabolize it.
When it comes to testing for alcohol intoxication, here is how long alcohol is detectible by the various alcohol screening methods:
- Urine: 12-72 hours after the last drink
- Saliva: Up to 48 hours after the last drink
- Blood: Up to 12 hours after the last drink
- Breath: Up to 12 hours after the last drink
- Hair: Up to 90 days after the last drink
Does Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Determine How Long it Takes to Sober Up?
Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is a numeric measurement that indicates the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. It takes the liver about one hour to metabolize enough alcohol to reduce the BAC by just 0.015.
BAC is expressed as gram of alcohol per 100 mm of blood volume, with .08 indicating the maximum legal limit permitted on the road. Factors that determine BAC include the amount of alcohol consumed, body weight, gender, and metabolism. This means that two people with a BAC of .08 may exhibit vastly different symptoms of intoxication.
To understand how much alcohol would be excessive, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) first defined a “drink.”
- 12-ounces of beer
- 8 ounces of malt liquor
- 5 ounces of wine
- 1½ ounces of liquor
Based on this definition, the CDC established guidelines to explain how much alcohol intake is considered excessive drinking:
- Excessive drinking: 8 or more drinks in a week for women, and 15 or more drinks in a week for men.
- Binge drinking: 4 or more drinks in a single occasion for women, and 5 or more drinks in a single occasion for men.
What are the Signs of Alcohol Addiction?
Alcohol use disorder is an umbrella term used in the DSM-5 to include various levels of alcohol misuse. These include binge drinking, alcohol dependency, and alcohol addiction. Once alcohol use disorder is diagnosed it is staged as mild, moderate, or severe. This staging level helps determine the appropriate level of care for treatment.
Here are some of the most common traits and symptoms of alcohol use disorder:
- The individual needs to consume increasingly higher levels of alcohol to get the desired effects
- The person is obsessed with planning their daily lives around drinking and recovering from drinking
- Alcohol is used to mitigate stress or negative emotions
- The person has blackouts
- They begin to neglect their daily responsibilities
- The individual lies about how much they drink
- They withdraw from friends and family to drink alone
- Their performance at work is affected
- They may get a DUI
- The drinking is affecting their relationships
- The person craves alcohol
- He or she is unable to quit drinking or even cut back
- They exhibit withdrawal symptoms when the alcohol wears off
How Long Does it Take to Sober Up in Detox?
If chronic alcohol abuse has resulted in alcohol use disorder, the best way to achieve sustained sobriety is through a rehab program. Alcohol detox and withdrawal is the first phase of the recovery process. So, how long does it take to sober up in detox?
Alcohol detox takes place in three stages:
- Stage One: Withdrawal symptoms begin to surface about 6-12 hours after the last drink. This first stage of detox lasts 1-2 days. Symptoms may include:
- Hand tremors or shaking
- Agitation
- Increased heart rate
- Sweating
- Nausea and vomiting
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Headache
- Stage Two: On days 3-4 the withdrawal symptoms will peak. Severe withdrawal symptoms may occur during this stage, which is why the symptoms are so closely monitored. Withdrawal symptoms may include:
- Intense irritability
- Anxiety
- Mental confusion
- Insomnia
- Disorientation
- Hallucinations
- Paranoid thoughts
- Shaking
- Fever
- Elevated blood pressure
- Seizure
- Delirium Tremens
- Stage Three: In the final days of alcohol detox, most symptoms subside, while sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression may persist for weeks.
Sober Up and Get Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder
Once the person has completed alcohol detox, entering a rehabilitation program is next. Detox alone is not sufficient to achieve lasting sobriety; the addiction behaviors must be changed. These changes are essential to succeeding in recovery, but they require treatment, practice, and time to replace old habits.
Alcohol rehab includes:
- Psychotherapy
- Group therapy
- Family therapy
- Psychosocial education
- 12-Step facilitation
- Holistic activities
- Recreation
- Aftercare planning
LifeSync Malibu Top Leading Addiction and Dual Diagnosis Provider
LifeSync Malibu is a luxury residential treatment center for individuals struggling with alcohol use disorder. If you are wondering, “How long does it take to sober up?” you may benefit from a compassionate and supportive treatment setting. Please reach out today at (866) 491-4426.