While it can be temporarily enjoyable to consume alcohol, having it in your system doesn’t stay fun for long. If you’ve ever been hungover or intoxicated to the point of feeling sick, you’ve probably wondered how to make the experience end. Chances are, you’ve probably asked yourself, “how can I flush this alcohol out of my system?”
There’s no easy way to get alcohol out of your system more quickly than normal, but there are ways to ease the symptoms and help the detoxing process go more smoothly. If you take care of yourself and follow some of the tips we provide in this post, while you have alcohol in your system, the symptoms will eventually subside, and you’ll feel like yourself again before you know it. And if you’re struggling with alcohol, Silver Pines’ residential addiction treatment may provide you with the help you need. Contact us today to learn more.
How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your Body?
Alcohol is typically broken down at about 100mL per hour. In simpler terms, it usually takes a grown male one hour to process one drink. How long alcohol will remain in your body depends solely on your blood alcohol content (BAC) level. This level can vary based on your sex, weight, age, how many drinks you had, and what type of alcohol had to drink.
4 Ways to Detox Your Body After Drinking
Alcohol is a toxin that needs to be eliminated from the body for us to function normally. About 10% of this toxin can be naturally released through bodily functions like sweating, breathing, and urinating. The rest is up to the liver, which takes over the detoxifying process. Provided below are some ways to help your liver flush alcohol out of your body:
Get Some Sleep
While sleeping late won’t physically flush alcohol out of your system, it’s a good step toward getting your body back to normal. Alcohol causes restless sleeping, so additional sleep is always helpful.
Drink Lots of Fluids
This one’s a given since alcohol is known to cause dehydration, which can cause a headache and make you feel lethargic. To increase your hydration levels, you should keep these three liquids around:
- Water: To fight dehydration and increase your hydration levels
- Gatorade: Has electrolytes that will help your body retain the water you’re drinking
- Tea: Helps relieve nausea and dizziness — you can even add ginger or something else with fructose to help your body metabolize the alcohol
Get Food In Your Body
Eating may be the most important way to flush alcohol out of your system. The toxins in alcohol can cause low blood sugar and even crashes, so it’s important to balance it out by eating. If you think you’re too nauseous to eat, you can try something light like crackers or bread. Then later, when your body can handle it, you can try eating meats and other foods that are rich with Vitamin D.
Sweat the Alcohol Out
While moving might be the last thing you want to do after a night of drinking, it can really help flush the toxins out. Not only will sweating and breathing deeper allow you to release toxins naturally but getting more oxygen can also help your liver filter out toxins more easily. You can take a short walk outside or even do a low-impact workout, like a yoga practice with lots of twists, to release endorphins.
Alcohol detox won’t necessarily remove all the toxins from your body immediately, but it can help you flush the alcohol out of your system quickly. Some popular ways to fight a hangover like drinking coffee and taking a shower, for example, may make you feel better in the moment but don’t have any effect on your BAC.
