How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System?

How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System?

Have you recently been drinking and want to get the alcohol out of your system as quickly as possible?

If so, don't worry. For most people, the most challenging part of quitting drinking is in the first few days. But after alcohol leaves your system it will start becoming easier for you to quit.

If you're wondering how long does alcohol stay in your system, read on and we'll tell you what you need to know.

How Alcohol Is Metabolized by the Body

Many people don't realize that there are various factors that influence the lifespan of alcohol in your system. With this being said, it will usually take about one hour for a standard drink to be metabolized by your body.

Even after the alcohol is metabolized by your body, it's important to be aware that you will still be under its influence. This means that your brain will be thinking differently, and your body will be working differently. This is why you should never do things like driving, operating heavy machinery, or any important task that requires your clear judgment.

If you're trying to figure out how long alcohol will actually be detectable in your body, keep in mind that there are several factors that determine how long it will take. This includes your age and body size.

Detection Timespans for Different Kinds of Tests

If you're getting a blood test done in order to find out if alcohol is in your system, keep in mind that it will generally leave your bloodstream at about 0.015 per hour. This means that the test probably won't be able to detect alcohol after about twelve hours.

If you're getting a urine test with the ethyl glucuronide (EtG) test, you should expect it to take three to five days before the alcohol in your system will not be detected. If you use the traditional method, it will only take around ten to twelve hours.

If you are testing your hair, you will be able to detect alcohol in your system for up to ninety days. Though this might seem like a long time, keep in mind that this is a similar amount of time span that other drugs can be detected as well.

The First Few Days After You Stop Drinking

The body has a pretty simple process when it comes to digesting and metabolizing alcohol. This is why the most important factor for making sense of how long alcohol stays in your body is how much you choose to drink.

If you're in a situation where you've just had several drinks and want to get the alcohol out of your system as quickly as you can because you're wondering how to sober up, don't worry. Though the first few days are the most difficult, there are three powerful tips you can follow so that it becomes easier for you to do.

How the Body is Affected By Alcohol

Once you swallow a drink, alcohol will go into your stomach before making its way into the small intestine. The stomach absorbs a bit less than a quarter of the alcohol and the small intestine absorbs the rest. Once it's absorbed, the alcohol finds its way into your bloodstream.

When the alcohol does reach your blood, it very rapidly reaches other parts of your body as well, such as your brain. This is why it impacts the functioning of so many different bodily systems in such important ways.

After it's circulated through the blood for several hours, the alcohol will eventually end up in the liver. This is where most of the alcohol metabolism takes place. This organ processes about one ounce of liquor in a single hour.

If you've drunk more than one ounce, the alcohol will saturate itself within your body by building up in the blood and other tissues until it's able to be processed by the liver. Over time, it's possible that this can cause damage to the brain and to the body's tissues.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)

BAC is the percentage of alcohol that's in somebody's bloodstream, and people usually express it by using a percentage that's in the blood in units of mass alcohol per volume.

If you're a typical person, you should expect one ounce of alcohol you consume to give you a blood alcohol concentration of about 0.15 percent. Though alcohol will stay in your bloodstream for longer if you drink more of it, a single ounce of alcohol will leave your bloodstream in about ten hours.

Factors That Influence How the Body Processes Alcohol

The older you are, the longer you should expect it to take for the liver to metabolize it. Also, keep in mind that it generally takes longer for women's bodies to process alcohol than men's bodies.

How much you eat also influences your BAC. If you have an empty stomach, your body will have a BAC of up to three times higher than if your stomach were full. Other factors that influence how your body processes alcohol are your body size and whether you are on medications or not.

How Long Does Alcohol Stay In Your System?

If you've been wondering how long does alcohol stays in your system, don't worry. Even though there are many factors that influence how long it takes this substance to leave your body, it will usually be gone within twelve hours.

If you've been wondering how to get sober, we're here to support you. Our 90 day How to Stop Drinking online course will give you all of the support that you need. You can take the course from the comfort of your own home and at your own pace. Join us today to make a change in your life.