How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System?
Published: February 12, 2026
You had a few drinks last night, and now you’re wondering if you’re safe to drive to work. Or maybe you have a drug test coming up, and you’re trying to figure out if that weekend beer will show up on the test. These are common questions, and the answers aren’t as simple as you might think.
So, how long does alcohol stay in your system? The answer depends on several factors, including the type of test you’re taking, how much you’ve consumed, and your individual body chemistry. Alcohol doesn’t just disappear the moment you stop feeling drunk. It lingers in your system, affecting your body and showing up on tests long after the buzz wears off.
What Happens When You Drink Alcohol?
About 20% of the alcohol you drink is absorbed through your stomach lining, while the remaining 80% enters your bloodstream through your small intestine. Your liver does the heavy lifting when it comes to processing alcohol, using enzymes to convert it into acetaldehyde, a toxic substance, which is then broken down into acetate that your body eventually eliminates.
However, your liver can only process about one standard drink per hour. A standard drink is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits. Drink faster than that, and alcohol builds up in your bloodstream.
Detection Times for Different Types of Tests
Different tests can detect alcohol for varying lengths of time, which directly affects how long alcohol stays in your system based on the testing method used.
Breath and Saliva Tests
Breathalyzers and saliva tests can detect alcohol for 12 to 24 hours after your last drink. These tests are commonly used by law enforcement during traffic stops.
Urine Tests
Standard urine tests detect alcohol for 12 to 48 hours after drinking. However, advanced tests looking for ethyl glucuronide (EtG), a byproduct of alcohol metabolism, can detect consumption for up to 80 hours. These tests are commonly used in treatment programs, legal monitoring, and workplace testing.
Blood Tests
Blood tests provide the most accurate measurement but have a short detection window of up to 12 hours. These measure blood alcohol concentration, or BAC. The legal limit for driving is 0.08% BAC, though you can be impaired at much lower levels. The average person metabolizes alcohol at about 0.015% per hour. If your BAC is 0.08%, it would take roughly five to six hours for all the alcohol to leave your bloodstream.
Hair Follicle Tests
Hair testing can detect alcohol use for up to 90 days, though these tests primarily establish long-term drinking patterns rather than recent use.
Factors That Affect How Long Alcohol Stays in Your System
The “one drink per hour” rule is just an average. Your body might process alcohol faster or slower based on numerous factors.
Body Weight and Composition
Larger people have more blood and water in their bodies, which dilutes alcohol. Alcohol doesn’t absorb well into fat tissue, so people with higher body fat percentages may experience higher BAC levels.
Biological Sex and Age
Women metabolize alcohol more slowly than men because they have less water in their bodies and lower levels of enzymes that break down alcohol. Age also affects metabolism. As you get older, your body becomes less efficient at processing alcohol.
Food and Liver Health
Drinking on an empty stomach means alcohol enters your bloodstream faster. Food slows absorption, giving your liver more time to process it. Liver health directly impacts how quickly you metabolize alcohol. People with liver disease process alcohol much more slowly, leading to prolonged intoxication.
Drinking Patterns
Binge drinking overwhelms your liver’s processing capacity, causing alcohol to remain in your system much longer than if you’d spread those same drinks over several hours.
Can You Speed Up Alcohol Metabolism?
Despite what you might have heard, there’s no way to speed up how your body processes alcohol. Cold showers, coffee, exercise, or drinking water don’t make alcohol leave your system faster. These things might make you feel more alert, but they don’t reduce your BAC. Coffee might make you a wide-awake drunk, but you’re still drunk. The only thing that reduces BAC is time.
Understanding the Health Risks
Understanding how long alcohol stays in your system isn’t just about passing tests. It’s about recognizing that alcohol continues affecting your body even after you feel sober. Alcohol impairs judgment, coordination, and reaction time. The morning after heavy drinking, you might still be too impaired to drive safely.
Chronic alcohol use damages nearly every organ. The liver develops fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, or cirrhosis (permanent scarring that impairs liver function). Your heart faces increased risks of high blood pressure and cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle). Regular heavy drinking also increases cancer risk and contributes to depression and anxiety.
When Drinking Becomes a Problem
If you’re frequently worried about how long alcohol stays in your system, or if you’re timing your drinking around tests or obligations, it might be time to examine your relationship with alcohol. Alcohol use disorder is a medical condition that requires professional treatment. It’s a chronic disease that changes brain chemistry and requires comprehensive care to overcome.
Getting the Help You Need
If you or someone you care about is struggling with alcohol use, professional treatment can help you understand your drinking patterns, address underlying issues, and build a life free from alcohol dependence.
At Rockland Treatment Center, we provide comprehensive treatment for alcohol use disorder. Our programs combine evidence-based therapy, medical support when needed, and personalized care that addresses both the physical and psychological aspects of addiction. We serve residents throughout the Tampa Bay area, including Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Brandon, Wesley Chapel, and Land O’ Lakes.
Contact Rockland Treatment Center today. Our compassionate team is ready to help you begin your journey to recovery in a safe, supportive environment where you can build the healthier future you deserve.