Yes, you actually can sweat out alcohol says Dr. Indra Cidambi, medical director of the Center for Network Therapy.
The liver can only metabolize a limited amount of alcohol, about a 12-ounce serving of beer or five ounces of wine in an hour. He explains that when a person consumes alcohol at a faster rate than what the liver can metabolize, the alcohol accumulates in the blood. The liver then works overtime to break down the alcohol, but what it can’t break down will be excreted through urine, breath, and sweat.
You may produce more sweat than usual during hungover workouts because as alcohol accumulates in the blood, blood vessels enlarge which makes the skin warm and triggers the sweat glands.
But sweating alcohol won’t help clear your hangover faster. Cidambi says that the liver processes about 90 percent of the alcohol. Breaking down that amount of alcohol takes time, especially for the over-imbibers.
In fact, trying to sweat it out may worsen the hangover symptoms. Alcohol cues the kidneys to produce extra urine, which results in dehydration. Sweat like crazy during a set of intervals and you’ll compound that dehydration problem and may even worsen your hangover symptoms.