Final answer:
To sober up a person who has been drinking, time is the only remedy as the liver must metabolize the alcohol. Drinking coffee or taking showers does not accelerate this process. The BAC legal limit is 0.08, and it takes an average of five hours for a legally intoxicated person to sober up.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a person has been drinking, the only way to sober them up is by giving their liver enough time to metabolize the ingested alcohol. Common myths suggest that drinking coffee or taking a shower can sober someone up; however, these methods are ineffective. The liver metabolizes alcohol at a steady rate, and it typically requires at least five hours for a person with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08, which is the legal limit for intoxication, to fully metabolize the alcohol and achieve sobriety.
Alcohol is a depressant that affects the central nervous system, leading to changes in consciousness, reaction times, and behavioral control. Once alcohol intoxication begins, it can take several hours for its effects to wear off, and this process cannot be sped up by external means. The rate at which alcohol is metabolized can depend on various factors such as age, sex, general health, and amount of alcohol consumed. Acute alcohol administration can have varying impact from mild euphoria to sedation or even more severe symptoms like loss of consciousness.