Alcohol Elimination Timeline & Curve.
Simulate how blood alcohol concentration rises during absorption and steadily clears through hepatic metabolism over 12+ hours.
How Does the Body Eliminate Alcohol?
Unlike most drugs that clear via first-order kinetics (exponential half-lives), ethanol is metabolized by the human liver predominantly through zero-order linear kinetics. The enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) becomes saturated at very low concentrations (~0.02% BAC), processing alcohol at a constant clearance speed of roughly 0.015% BAC per hour regardless of total alcohol consumed.
The "Morning After" Danger
A common misconception is that sleep accelerates sobriety. In truth, liver metabolism continues at the same steady rate while sleeping. If you conclude a night of heavy drinking at 2:00 AM with a BAC of 0.18%, your blood alcohol level at 8:00 AM will still measure approximately 0.09%—which remains illegal to drive in all jurisdictions and carries severe impairment.