The answer: Being drunk usually lasts 3-6 hours from when you're most drunk. But this can be different for each person.
6 Things That Decide How Long You Stay Drunk
1. How Much You Drink
More alcohol = drunk for longer time. Your liver can only handle about one drink per hour:
- 12 oz beer (5% alcohol) = 1 drink
- 5 oz wine (12% alcohol) = 1 drink
- 1.5 oz shot (40% alcohol) = 1 drink
Example: 4 drinks = about 4 hours until the alcohol is gone from your body.
Even after alcohol is gone, you can still get in legal trouble if you drove while drunk. Learn about jail time for drunk driving to understand why you should wait until you're completely sober.
2. Your Weight and Body Type
- Lighter people = get drunk faster and stay drunk longer
- More body fat = alcohol affects you longer (fat doesn't absorb alcohol)
- More muscle = more water to dilute alcohol = may get sober faster
Example: A 120-pound person will usually stay drunk much longer than a 200-pound person who drank the same amount.
3. Men vs Women
Women usually stay drunk longer than men who weigh the same because:
- Less water in their body to dilute alcohol (about 55% vs 68% in men)
- Less of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol
- Hormones affect how alcohol is processed
Fact: Women typically get 25-30% more drunk than men of the same weight drinking the same amount.
4. Food in Your Stomach
- Empty stomach = alcohol hits you faster and harder
- Foods with protein and fat slow down alcohol absorption the most
- Eating before drinking works better than eating after you start drinking
Tip: Eating a big meal 1-2 hours before drinking can reduce how drunk you get by up to 20%.
5. Your Body's Natural Speed
- Some people naturally process alcohol faster because of their genes
- These differences can make alcohol processing 40% faster or slower
- Older people usually process alcohol slower
Gene fact: About 8% of white people and up to 50% of Asian people have genes that affect how they process alcohol.
6. Medicine and Health Problems
- Some medicines can make alcohol stay in your system longer
- Liver problems make you stay drunk much longer
- Some medicine and alcohol combinations can be dangerous
Important: Always check if your medicine says not to drink alcohol. Some combinations can be very dangerous.
How Your Body Gets Rid of Alcohol
Your body removes alcohol in these steps:
- Absorption - Most goes into your blood from your small intestine
- Spreading - Blood carries alcohol everywhere (reaches brain in 5-10 minutes)
- Processing - 90% gets broken down by your liver using special enzymes
- Getting Rid of It - Small amounts leave through pee, sweat, and breath
The Bottom Line
Being drunk usually lasts 3-6 hours from peak, but can affect you up to 24 hours. The exact time depends on:
- How much you drank
- Your weight and body type
- If you're male or female
- What you ate
- Your natural metabolism
- Any medicines you take
The safest approach is to plan ahead. Use our BAC calculator to learn how alcohol affects you, but remember that the only way to get sober is time.
Never drive until you feel completely normal. Learn more about how many drinks it takes to get drunk to make better choices about drinking.