5 Quickest Ways to Sober Up After Drinking

Plenty of us have been there: You had one drink too many, and suddenly, the night’s fun buzz is a bit too strong. So, what’s the quickest way to sober up? Well, time is the only way to truly sober up, but there are some tricks that can help you shake off the sauce and feel less drunk. 

Importantly, drinking can lead to serious consequences for individuals with certain health conditions, such as diabetes or alcohol use disorder (alcoholism). And for anyone who drinks and then mans a vehicle, or, say, who’s tasked with supervising children, obviously that drinking is a danger to others’ health and welfare—no matter how sober you feel. 

Because of the way alcohol gets absorbed into your body, there’s no proven way to speed up getting sober (and trust us, researchers have studied every possibility). But in those cases when you had a little too much innocent fun and simply want to snap out of it—we’ve got you covered. The Healthy by Reader’s Digest spoke with doctors and looked at recent years’ research for ways to help you feel less drunk and prevent further alcohol absorption. 

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What alcohol does to your body

Alcohol is not digested like food. Once you take a sip:

• The alcohol immediately starts getting absorbed into your bloodstream through your gastrointestinal tract (starting with your mouth, but with the majority absorbed in your small intestine), according to the Cleveland Clinic. 
• Once in your bloodstream, your circulatory system moves the alcohol around your body—reaching your brain within about 5 to 10 minutes. There, it impacts parts of your brain that control your senses, emotional expression, coordination, and more. 
• Within about 20 minutes, the alcohol in your blood reaches your liver, where enzymes break it down.

On average, your liver can only metabolize about one ounce of alcohol per hour—so any excess keeps circulating your bloodstream, raising your body’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC). As your BAC goes up, the impacts of what alcohol does to your body grow stronger. For example, it slows your central nervous system, raises your blood pressure, can disrupt your gastrointestinal system, and can weaken your immune system, according to 2022 research published in Cureus. 

How long does it take to sober up?

It takes your body around an hour to absorb one drink. And the more you drink, the longer it takes for the alcohol to get eliminated from your system. However, several factors influence how quickly you can sober up. 

First, it’s important to understand how your body gets rid of alcohol. Once it reaches your liver, special enzymes kick-start a process that eventually breaks down the alcohol into carbon dioxide, fatty acids, and water, per research published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 

But in some cases, this process can be less efficient. Research shows that some people are genetically predisposed to have fewer of these alcohol-eliminating enzymes—and in general, women have lower levels than men. As we age, our metabolism tends to slow down as well, which affects how well we process alcohol.

Still, while there’s nothing you can do to speed up this process, certain factors slow it down:

• Poor nutrition can interfere with optimal liver function.
• Heavy drinking can weaken your liver over time, reducing its ability to process alcohol. 
• Taking medication that gets processed in your liver—such as Tylenol or antibiotics—can overwork your liver, reducing its effectiveness in breaking down alcohol.
• Dehydration can reduce liver function.

5 quickest ways to sober up

The only proven way to sober up is to give your body the time it needs to eliminate alcohol from your system. However, if you’ve had one too many, experts say there are a few ways to help you feel more alert and reduce how much alcohol your body absorbs.

This is an important distinction because although these tricks may help you feel less drunk, they do not change your BAC. So, even if you feel more awake and aware, your BAC still might be over the limit to legally (or safely) drive, for instance. 

It’s also worth mentioning what experts advise against when trying to sober up. 

• Caffeine can make you feel more alert when you’ve had too much to drink, but this might give you a false sense of sobriety, according to the CDC—which could encourage you to drink more or think it’s okay to drive. Mixing caffeine and alcohol can also contribute to high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and dehydration. 
• If you’re tempted to throw up that last drink to sober up, this won’t work either. Remember: Alcohol is almost immediately absorbed into your bloodstream after you take a drink.. So, if you throw up, you’re just getting rid of your stomach contents, not alcohol. 

Here’s what to try instead, according to experts and current research. 

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1. Drink plenty of water

Water may be as good at clearing up a boozed-up brain as it is at curing your thirst. “Alcohol dehydrates the body which causes a lot of the side effects of alcohol,” said Zehra Siddiqui, DO, a family medical physician and agency medical director of Bowery Residents’ Committee, a nonprofit organization that serves homeless populations in New York City. “Also it does help to dilute the alcohol.”

Drinking water doesn’t help your body metabolize alcohol faster, but alternating between a cocktail and a glass of water can help your liver play catch-up in clearing the alcohol in your bloodstream, helping you feel less drunk. One study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology in 2017 also found that drinking water may help reduce your urge to order another drink altogether. 

You can also dilute the alcohol in your cocktail or glass of wine by splashing some carbonated water in there for a spritzer effect, while lowering the amount of alcohol that gets into your system. 

Beware of carbonated drinks

Just a heads-up that carbonated beverages with high alcohol content—beer, champagne, or even rum and Coke—may speed up your body’s absorption of alcohol more than the non-bubbly kind. In a 2007 study of 21 people, 66% of people who consumed vodka absorbed the alcohol faster if it was mixed with a carbonated beverage compared with water.

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2.  Eat carb-heavy foods

Bread-based buffets may help soak up alcohol, but having any type of food in your stomach can help slow down your absorption of alcohol. This, of course, can reduce your chances of getting too intoxicated. “Eating a high-carb diet lowers the ratio of alcohol in your blood and slows absorption,” says Dr. Siddiqui.

Meals high in fat, protein, or carbohydrates will delay gastric emptying, and thus lower the amount of alcohol that is absorbed, according to a 2012 review in the journal Clinical Liver Disease.

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3. Have a smoothie

They’re not just for post-spin class anymore: Your average ginger-apple-carrot is loaded with all kinds of goodness that’ll get you out of your drunk doldrums faster than you can say, “Can I get a side of wheat grass with that?”

“Depending on what’s in them, smoothies really are great,” adds Dr. Siddiqui. “Pineapple, ginger, mint, and coconut—that’s a personal favorite, but think of fruits and veggies that are high in vitamin C and antioxidants.”

What’s more, 2020 research published in the Journal of Medicinal Food says that fiber and protein help to slow alcohol absorption in your body—which can keep your BAC in check as your liver works to clear what’s in your system. When you start to feel a bit fuzzy, switch to a mocktail full of high-fiber fruits like bananas and berries. And if you can, add some nut butter, yogurt, oats, or avocado for a boost of protein.

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4. Exercise

Ever notice during a bar crawl that the farther you have to walk to the next destination, the longer in the night you can hang in there? Turns out, a little cardio goes a long way into preventing you from getting a tad too happy during happy hour. “Exercise gets the blood flowing through the liver so it detoxes your blood [efficiently],” says Dr. Siddiqui .

To be clear: Exercise doesn’t lower your BAC. It does, however, improve blood flow, helping your liver do its job. It can also reduce inflammation, which is one of the key contributors to nasty hangover symptoms. Increased breathing and sweat production can also flush out a small amount of alcohol in your body. 

Of course, because your motor skills are impaired when drinking, vigorous exercise can be dangerous. But whether you walk home instead of taking a cab or dance the night away, getting up from your barstool may help you feel more alert. 

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5. Love

While a loss of amore is often why we guzzle alcohol to begin with, a healthy dose of it could contain its ill effects. A study from the University of Sydney and the University of Regensburg indicates that oxytocin (aka the love hormone) injected into animals helped them quickly retain motor and brain function after alcohol impairment. The findings appear in PNAS.

So instead of not having sex because of a headache, understand it could actually help you avoid the three-martini aftermath. But if you’re simply not in the mood, research published in PLoS One in 2022 says that holding hands, receiving a massage, hugging, and cuddling all produce increased levels of oxytocin, too. (And that includes cuddling your pet!) 

How to avoid getting drunk in the first place

Rather than seeking out the quickest way to sober up, it’s better to instead control how much alcohol your body absorbs as you drink. Of course, avoiding getting too tipsy in the first place can also help prevent a hangover.

Research published in the BMJ explains how to reduce the pace at which your body absorbs alcohol:

• Eat a full meal (particularly with carbohydrates) before drinking—alcohol gets absorbed quickly on an empty stomach.
• Limit bubbly drinks, such as a spirit and soda or champagne, as these encourage alcohol to get into your system faster.
• Dilute spirits, as they contain the highest concentration of alcohol (around 40%)—and avoid taking shots. 
• Drink at a slower pace, keeping in mind that it takes your liver about one hour to process a standard drink. This pace can help you keep count of your drinks as well. 
• Avoid taking medications that can increase alcohol absorption or overwork your liver, such as antacids, antihistamines, Tylenol, antibiotics, and many prescription medications. If you’re unsure, speak to your doctor about whether it’s safe to drink alcohol on your medication. 

For daily wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy by Reader’s Digest newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook and Instagram. Keep reading:

• How Drunk Am I? 9 Weird Reasons You Can Get Tipsy Too Quickly
• This Is the Alcoholic Drink That’s Least Harmful to Your Liver, Says a Liver Doctor
• Cut Back on Alcohol: 17 Tips to Drink a Little Less