There are many old wives’ tales about how to accelerate the sobering-up process after a night of drinking. However, many of these are myths that – if you employ – could land you with an impaired driving charge if you get behind the wheel.
In today’s post, we discuss some of the most common sobering-up myths, and how they actually work in your body:
Coffee
Drinking coffee is perhaps one of the oldest myths to accelerate the sobering-up process. This is likely because drinking coffee has the effect of increasing your level of alertness – in contrast to alcohol, which has a sedating effect. However, being alert and being sober are two very different conditions. Drinking coffee has no effect on your blood alcohol content.
Water
Drinking water in conjunction with alcohol can be beneficial in many ways. Alcohol makes you more dehydrated, and water serves to rehydrate you. It can also serve to prevent a hangover the following day. However, it does nothing to flush alcohol out of your system faster.
Food
Many people believe that eating heavy, carbohydrate-rich food after (or during) a night of drinking can help to reduce drunkenness. The theory is that bread and similar foods can act as a sponge to absorb the alcohol. In practice, however, this does not hold true. It’s true that having some food in your stomach before you have your first drink can help to avoid sudden impairment by easing the rate of alcohol absorption into your body. However, eating after you start drinking has no effect on impairment.
One drink per hour
Spreading your drinking out over the night – rather than all at once – is also believed to reduce drunkenness. However, everyone’s body metabolizes alcohol at a different rate. For the average-sized man, it takes two hours to metabolize a 12-ounce serving of beer.
While many of the above steps can help you to have a more pleasant experience during – and after – a night of drinking, it’s important to remember that they will not reduce your blood alcohol content. Therefore, it’s important to plan accordingly before getting behind the wheel.
