Scientists reveal how long it takes the body to recover from a night of booze – and what you should NEVER do the morning after

Many Brits today will be suffering from a sore head after a drunken night out in the New Year.

But with the holidays falling mid-week this year, there is little time to recover; many are back to work within 48 hours.

Will your body and mind have resolved the effects of alcohol by then?

In conversation with MailOnline, experts revealed this exactly how long it takes for the average person’s brain and body to return to normal balance – and tips given to speed up the process.

Surprisingly, the remedies you normally reach for haven’t been proven to make you feel better, the scientists say.

For example, coffee can dehydrate you further, causing dreaded symptoms like headaches and nausea to persist, while taking painkillers can worsen the pressure on your liver, increasing the risk of permanent damage.

But one activity often considered beneficial can actually be seriously harmful, possibly even resulting in a fatal heart attack.

According to experts at Medical News Today, exercising while hungover can cause a sudden collapse and cause abnormal heart rhythms known as arrhythmia.

This is because alcohol can slow down the electrical signals in the organ as it calms the nervous system.

However, a burst of exercise the day after drinking can quickly increase heart rate, throwing signals into an abnormal rhythm.

According to studies, this dramatically increases the risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

The chance of having an abnormal heart rhythm after drinking alcohol “significantly increases” during exercise for up to two days after heavy drinking, according to a report reviewed by a registered dietitian and diabetes expert. Imashi Fernando.

Meanwhile, the combination of a drop in blood sugar levels and dehydration can lead to a phenomenon known as exercise-related collapse.

The problem can make people feel dizzy and faint during physical activities and, in worst cases, lose consciousness.

How long does it take for last night’s drink to get out of your system?

Dr. Hussain Ahmad, consultant physician at Click2Apotheektold MailOnline that if you drink just one drink, the body processes it within two to three hours.

“However, multiple alcoholic drinks slow down the rate at which your body can metabolize and pass it on, and it can take up to 12 hours for it to completely leave your bloodstream,” he said.

But even after it leaves the bloodstream, it travels to other body systems, meaning it can take days for the poison to be removed.

Eating a large Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner can make you feel less drunk because it absorbs some of the alcohol, slowing its release into the bloodstream.

However, a large meal may mean it takes longer to recover from the impending hangover.

‘Although food is often recommended as a supplement to alcohol, it can slow the rate at which your body metabolizes alcohol, making it take longer to leave your system,’ said Dr Ahmad.

Clifford Stephan, a nutrition scientist and founder of the sobriety site Booze Vacation, said while eating a heavy meal may make you feel less drunk, “that won’t help you the next day.”

Once alcohol leaves the bloodstream, blood vessels – which constrict when you get drunk, causing blood pressure to rise – return to their normal size.

“Once the liver has filtered alcohol from the blood, it can resume its other functions,” says Rachael Richardson, dietitian and founder of Nutrolutionpreviously told DailyMail.com. This includes digestion and metabolizing vitamins and minerals.

However, alcohol still remains in your body as it travels from the bloodstream to the digestive system.

And after twelve o’clock the hangover starts.

The feel-good brain hormone dopamine begins to drop to unusually low levels, which can cause persistent sadness.

You will also feel dehydrated because alcohol is a diuretic, a substance that blocks signals sent from the brain to the kidneys telling them to retain water. This causes fluids to flow through the bladder more quickly.

While you are still drunk, you will have to go to the toilet more often. And if you’re hungover, you’re dehydrated.

Stomach problems are common for about two days while the drink remains in the intestines.

Alcohol can hinder the gut microbiome, a network of bacteria that live in the digestive tract and help us fight infections and regulate appetite.

But alcohol can destroy good bacteria while feeding bad bacteria.

This growth of bad bacteria leads to stomach pain, constipation and high stomach acid for several days.

Mr. Stephan suggests avoiding caffeine first thing in the morning to avoid worsening its effects.

“Many people will reach for coffee to jump-start their day, but coffee can be rough on your already irritated stomach lining and will dehydrate you further,” he said.

He recommends opting for lemon water with sea salt instead to replenish lost electrolytes — essential vitamins lost during dehydration.

And while your head may be pounding, consider skipping the acetaminophen and ibuprofen. “Your liver has just taken quite a hit, detoxing the alcohol from your system, and piling on regular painkillers the day after (which are also detoxified in your liver) will only make the injury worse,” Mr Stephan said.

About two days after you stop drinking, the alcohol is completely cleared from the body, returning the bloodstream to completely normal.

And within a day, bowel movements return to normal.

Reduce constipation, diarrhea and pain. “The stomach acid decreases or returns to normal levels, your body starts to reset, all the acidity from all the alcohol calms down and your stomach starts to return to normal,” Ms Richardson said.