By Rosie P.
As we all know drinking and driving is extremely dangerous and illegal. Most of us are responsible enough to avoid such a situation. However many people think it’s okay to get into their cars and drive in the morning after drinking. They don’t realise they could still be over the legal limit to drive. Most people think that a couple of hours of sleep, means you no longer have alcohol in your system.
“Sleeping it off” works differently for everyone. There are many factors that affect how long alcohol remains in your blood stream. Some of these factors are:
- How long it has been since your last drink
- How much alcohol you consumed
- Whether you ate before or while consuming alcohol
- Your weight
- Your gender – men tend to eliminate alcohol faster than women
- Your mood
- The state of your liver – you have enzymes in your liver that break down alcohol and it can take longer if your liver is damaged.
- Your metabolism – how quickly or slowly your body turns food into energy
Unfortunately there is no way of speeding up the process – so eating, drinking coffee or taking a shower won’t help. The only thing that works is time.
So next time you think about driving the morning after you’ve been drinking, consider how much you drank, when you had your last drink and the other factors listed. If you feel “hungover” or are even a little doubtful, consider taking a cab to work or ask a friend for a ride instead of driving.
