Then, you have to factor in how much alcohol you drank. "If you drank a tremendous amount, you might not feel better after one day, and [the hangover] can last up to 72 hours," Dr. Halpern says. What many of us tend to forget when we're out getting drunk is that the rate at which you drink affects how drunk and hungover you get, she says. "The body breaks down alcohol at the same rate no matter what," she says. "So, it's not like if you drink more, your body breaks it down faster." The faster your drink, the drunker you get because your body can't keep up with metabolizing it as quickly.