Frequently asked questions
How Long Does Alcohol Stay In The Brain?
Answer: Research shows that alcohol remains in your brain for about 14 days after your last drink. At that point, the brain begins returning to its normal state.
When you consume alcohol habitually, it impacts your body and its systems in many ways. One example of this is how alcohol consumption changes the way your brain functions. That fact may have you trying to figure out how long alcohol stays in your brain. You probably want to understand many things about detox or alcohol rehab.
But that’s not all that you need to know about alcohol consumption and how it impacts your health. Keep reading to get the full scoop.
Understanding the impact alcohol has on the brain
When you consume alcohol, it impacts your entire body. But it has an especially significant influence on how your brain functions. It impacts your health in several different ways. That is why treatment is so important.
First, alcohol impacts your neuron’s communication pathways. This can influence things like your reaction time, behavior, and judgment.
Additionally, alcohol can also influence how your brain processes information. This can also impact how you perceive different internal and external stimuli.
But these are just the short-term impacts of alcohol on the brain. Research has shown that over a long time frame, it can also cause the following brain-related problems:
- Deficits in learning and memory
- Dementia
- Mental disorders
- Other types of cognitive issues
How long does alcohol stay in the brain?
The good news is that the brain is remarkably efficient at healing itself. When you quit using alcohol, you can expect most of it to leave your brain within the following 14-day period.
That being said, some of the impacts that alcohol has on your brain take longer to recover than others. For example, you might see an improvement in your motor skills in just a few days after your last drink.
However, activities requiring higher levels of cognitive function, such as giving undivided attention to something, may take longer to heal. For example, a level of alcohol concentration in your blood of 0.08 is the legal limit for drinking and driving in the US, takes about 6 hours to leave your system. And will stay in your urine for about 4 days.
How to get alcohol out of your system
The only thing that you need to do to get alcohol out of your brain is to quit drinking. But, depending on your level of alcohol addiction, this can be more complicated than it sounds on the surface.
When you first quit drinking, your body goes through detox. This process can include several significant side effects – some of which can be life-threatening.
That’s why it’s important to detox in a professional facility. For example, Still Water Wellness offers personalized detox to our patients in the Southern California area.
With our help, you can get the exact type of support that you need to get alcohol out of your brain as quickly and painlessly as possible. We even accept many different types of insurance.
So why wait? Take the first step towards the brighter tomorrow that you’re after by reaching out to us today.