A night of heavy partying follows you into the next day.
Contrary to popular belief, only time will sober you up.
The rate that alcohol leaves the body is constant, regardless of gender, body type or size. It leaves at a rate of .015% per hour (.25-.30 ounce of ethanol, which comes out to about 1/2 drink per hour).
If a person went to bed at 2 AM with a BAC of .20, the next 15 hours might look like this:
| Time | Activity | Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) |
|---|---|---|
|
2 AM |
Leave the bar, get food, stumble home |
BAC .200 |
|
3 AM |
Drunk-dial friends |
BAC .185 |
|
4 AM |
Crash in a chair |
BAC .170 |
|
5 AM |
Awake with neck cramp, move to bed |
BAC .155 |
|
6 AM |
Restless sleep |
BAC .140 |
|
7 AM |
Wake up, search for water, go back to bed |
BAC .125 |
|
8 AM |
Restless sleep |
BAC .110 |
|
9 AM |
Hit snooze repeatedly, pounding headache |
BAC .095 |
|
10 AM |
Realize you accidentally shut off alarm, jump out of bed, pull on sweats, grab gum, then hustle to class (DUI possible if you drive) |
BAC .080 |
| 11 AM | Contemplate whether food is a good idea -- decide it's not -- go home and sleep like the dead | BAC .065 |
| Noon | Alarm wakes you -- contemplate skipping next class | BAC .050 |
| 1 PM | In class, irritable | BAC .035 |
| 2 PM | Head clearing, skip the gym and go home | BAC .020 |
| 3 PM | Feeling better, decide to eat | BAC .005 |
| 4 PM | Sober at last | BAC .000 |
| 5 PM | Make plans for the evening that don't involve drinking |
Want your day-after to be great? Check out Stay in the Blue.
Adapted from Choices Interactive Journal from The Change Companies.