Mark Henderson answered
On average one unit of alcohol is broken down every hour in your body, although there are a variety of factors which determine how long alcohol stays in your blood.
The variables which determine how quickly alcohol is broken down in blood are:
For example, if you have five single measurements of a spirit, which equals five units, then it will take about five hours for your body to break down the alcohol in your blood. Likewise:
The variables which determine how quickly alcohol is broken down in blood are:
- Body weight.
- Your gender.
- How old you are.
- Your metabolism.
- The amount of food you have consumed.
- The strength and type of alcohol.
- It will also take longer if you have liver problems.
For example, if you have five single measurements of a spirit, which equals five units, then it will take about five hours for your body to break down the alcohol in your blood. Likewise:
- It will take your body around three hours to break down the alcohol content from a large glass of wine (250ml).
- Or, if you prefer beer, then it takes your body about two hours to break down one pint of lager.
- If you binge drink and consume many different types of alcohol on a night out, then the alcohol can stay in your blood until the next day.
- Men are advised not to drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol per day on a regular basis.
- Women are advised not to drink more than 2-3 units per day on a regular basis.
