When someone drinks too much alcohol, the surest way to sober up is to sleep while the body processes the alcohol. Other cues, such as drinking coffee and exercising, may help people look awake for a while.
While proponents may suggest techniques like drinking coffee, taking cold showers, or vomiting, these methods won’t help a person sober up. They may momentarily make someone more awake and alert, but they have no impact on how much alcohol is in their body at any given time.
This article will cover safer drinking practices and advice on how to quickly sober up after drinking.
Table of Contents
Is There a Way to Sober Up Fast?
So you’ve consumed too much alcohol. Even the best of us experience it occasionally. Maybe a strong cocktail snuck up on you. Perhaps you drank excessively quickly or simply had too many drinks. What do you currently do when you need to quickly sober up?
Finding a quick way to sober up can be a never-ending search. There are a lot of tall tales and top-secret recipes out there that promise to have the answer to this issue. None are backed by science. Any doctor will tell you the truth if you ask them how to quickly sober up: it is not possible.
Only time can reduce the level of alcohol in your blood. The good news is that you can take precautions to prevent getting too inebriated and suffering from a bad hangover in the first place.
How to Sober Up Fast?
These general and time-specific strategies will help you wake up quickly.
General Approach
Drink Coffee
Although it may make one feel more alert, caffeine does not help the body break down alcohol. A person may still be impaired and intoxicated even though they feel awake and alert.
Take Cold Showers
The BAC is not decreased by taking cold showers. A cold shower may make a person alert for a short period, but they are still impaired. Cold showers are sometimes connected to shock and even loss of consciousness in some drunk people. It is advisable to inform someone else in case something goes wrong if someone is going to try this approach.
Eating and Drinking
Eating can help slow the bloodstream’s absorption of alcohol before, during, and after drinking. Drinking plenty of water can also assist with dehydration and flushing toxins from the body.
Enough Sleep
The most effective method for aiding sobriety is sleep. Time can pass while the body rests and heals during sleep. The body’s capacity to eliminate alcohol is also improved. As more sleep is obtained, the liver has more time to function properly and metabolize the alcohol, resulting in a person feeling soberer.
Workouts
A person’s body can become more awake and alert with exercise. Exercise may help the body metabolize alcohol more quickly, but there is currently little solid evidence to support this claim. However, even though exercise won’t help a person get sober, they might become more alert after doing some of it.
For Specific Times
To Sober Up Before Bed
Sleeping soundly is the most effective way to become sober. Your liver will have ample time throughout the night to metabolize (deconstruct) all the alcohol in your body. Intoxication makes it easy to fall asleep, but your sleep is likely to be interrupted and broken up. Here are a few tips that can help set the scene for an easier morning:
- As soon as you wake up, sip from a large glass of water you’ve left on your nightstand.
- Leave a trash can, bucket, or bowl next to your bed in case you need to vomit.
- To counteract the dehydrating effects of alcohol, sip on a large glass of water before bed.
- In case you have to get up early, set a backup alarm.
- Never take a sleeping pill or another depressant after drinking.
- Leave an over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), on your nightstand to take in the morning. Avoid acetaminophen-containing products like Tylenol and some varieties of Excedrin while alcohol is still present in your system. These medications can interact with alcohol and may cause liver damage as a result.
To Sober Up in the Morning
Now that it’s the morning after, you are suffering the consequences. Although the effects of a hangover can be excruciating, you shouldn’t try to cure one by drinking a mixture of raw eggs and bacon fat, despite what you may have read online. It’s not. Most hangovers resolve on their own within 24 hours. The best hangover cures are time and rest, but there are a few steps you can take to help ease the pain:
- To counteract the dehydrating effects of alcohol, drink water.
- Wear sunglasses or close the drapes to keep light out of your eyes. You might be more susceptible to sound or light when you’re hungover.
- Use an over-the-counter medicine, like Tums, to soothe gastrointestinal discomfort.
- To raise your blood sugar without upsetting your stomach, eat bland foods like toast and crackers.
- Use an over-the-counter painkiller to treat your headache. Avoid acetaminophen due to its effects on the liver.
- Intoxicated sleep isn’t restful or restorative, but returning to sleep after getting sober can help with a hangover.
- Caffeine should be consumed with caution. While caffeine can lessen the fatigue brought on by hangovers, it can also aggravate an upset stomach.
5 Ways to Avoid Getting Too Drunk
Here are some suggestions to help you stay sober.
- Count your drinks
- Measure your drinks
- Alter what you drink
- Alter how you drink
- Eat something
Summary
Allowing enough time, rest, and sleep is the best way to become sober. The techniques we’ve listed above might make someone appear and feel more alert, but they won’t reduce their body’s blood alcohol content.
FAQs
What Food is Best to Sober Up?
Any food will help, but carbohydrates — like bread, pasta or potatoes — slow down how quickly your body absorbs the alcohol. Eating during or after drinking alcohol may make you feel less intoxicated, but it doesn’t mean you’ve sobered up and are no longer impaired.
What Foods Absorb Alcohol?
Foods high in protein and healthy fats, like yogurt and salmon, can help slow alcohol absorption. Potassium, which you might lose after drinking, is also abundant in avocados and bananas. Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
