HOURHere's a helpful fact to quote to all the smug relatives who say they went for a run the morning after the Christmas party: You can't get rid of toxins through sweating. “Toxins” is a broad term, says Adam Taylor, professor of anatomy at Lancaster Medical School, covering anything that can harm the body – from heavy metals to chemicals found in plastics, as well as common by-products of our own metabolism. The liver is designed to process the toxins found in alcohol and either break them down into useful units or get rid of them. Unnecessary products are then filtered from the blood and excreted in urine or feces.
On the other hand, sweat performs a completely different function. Although it may contain very small amounts of certain metabolic byproducts, its purpose is to regulate temperature (and in some situations, signal stress or fear). “Sweating is not a detoxifier,” Taylor says. “Going for a run or sitting in a sauna after a night of drinking will not reduce the amount of toxins produced by the metabolism of alcohol or lower your blood alcohol levels.”
There is actually no way to speed up alcohol detoxification. Each person metabolizes it at a fairly fixed rate.
So why does going to the gym or sitting in the sauna feel good when you're hungover? Both activities are known to increase levels of endorphins—the body's natural feel-good chemicals—and reduce levels of cortisol, which can make us feel anxious or stressed. They also improve circulation, relax tense muscles, and stimulate the part of the nervous system responsible for resting and digesting food, all of which can make recovery easier. But this is about managing symptoms, not speeding up detoxification.
“If you decide to do something that will make you sweat during a hangover, make hydration a priority,” says Taylor. “Alcohol removes water from the body, and sweating increases fluid loss, increasing the risk of dehydration and tissue inflammation.”
