January 28, 2025

Understanding Benzodiazepine Detection Times: How Long Benzos Stay in Your System?

Learn how long benzos stay in your system, including detection times in blood, urine, saliva, and hair. Get insights into factors that affect elimination rates and testing accuracy.

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How Long Benzos Stay in Your System?

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Kirsten Andersen

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Last Update on January 14, 2025

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Benzos, or benzodiazepines, are prescription drugs used to treat anxiety, sleeping disorders, and many other disorders. Ironically, however, despite their benefits, these drugs tend to make the user really dependent on them. Whether you’re trying to understand its effects or preparing for a drug test, you may want to know how long benzos stay in your system and the variables that will determine this length of time.

A number of predisposing factors apply, including the kind of test you have gone through blood, urine, saliva, or hair; the nature of your metabolism. Having analyzed these closely, you will better understand the detection times and precisely how these drugs get metabolized and eliminated from your system.

What is Benzodiazepine and How Do They Work?

Benzodiazepines are a class of prescription drugs developed to calm the central nervous system. They work by promoting an increase in the activity of gamma-aminobutyric acid, a chemical in your brain that slows down nerve activity. This calming effect makes them effective for treating anxiety, improving sleep, and relaxing muscles.

Following is a list of the commonly known benzodiazepines:

  • Xanax (alprazolam): Commonly used for the treatment of anxiety and panic disorders.
  • Valium (diazepam): Used to treat anxiety, muscle spasms, and seizures.
  • Ativan (lorazepam): Used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders.

 

Although these medications can be highly effective, they should be used with considerable caution because of the potential for dependence and abuse. Always follow your doctor’s advice when using them.1

Detection Times for Benzodiazepines by Test Type

Detection times vary according to the type of test being used to detect the presence of benzodiazepines in your system.

All the available methods can be categorized as follows:

  • Urinalysis: Benzos can usually be detected in urinalysis for 3 to 7 days, though extended use and long-acting types of drugs may show longer detection.
  • Blood Test: This can trace benzodiazepines for 12 to 48 hours, the shortest among the mentioned detection windows.
  • Saliva Test: Best for very recent use, these tests have an average detection window ranging from 1 to 2 days.
  • Hair Test: These tests detect benzo use for up to 90 days, which is the longest-lasting method of detection against benzos.

 

Note that all these timelines can be approximated and depend on many things like the kind of drug taken, dosage, and individual factors of the person consuming the drug, which we will further explain below.2

Quick Tip: Factors That Affect Benzodiazepine Detection

Detection times for benzodiazepines vary greatly depending on a number of factors that involve metabolism, dosage, and drug type. Each of these becomes an important determinant of how long benzos stay in your system.

Factors Affecting How Long Benzodiazepines Stay in Your System

How long benzos stay in your system depends on several variables, including the following:

  • Type of Benzodiazepine: The elimination times for the short-acting and long-acting benzodiazepines vary.
  • Dosage and Frequency: Larger doses and increased frequency cause longer detection times.
    Metabolism: High metabolic rates favor increased excretion of drugs.
  • Age: If you are older, you may metabolize benzodiazepines much more slowly.
  • Body Fat: Benzodiazepines are stored in fat cells, which increases how long these drugs will remain within your system.
  • Liver Health: If your liver isn’t functioning well, it may take longer for the drug to clear your system.

 

All these factors might seriously influence how long benzos will remain in your body.

How Long Benzos Stay Detectable After a Single Use vs. Chronic Use

If you’ve only taken a benzodiazepine once, it may clear from your system within a few days, especially if it’s one of the short-acting varieties.

However, if you’ve been using benzos regularly, they can accumulate in your body, and that accumulation of benzos in the system may extend detection far beyond that. This is often a consideration with someone in recovery being subject to required drug screening.

Understanding Half-Life and Its Impact on Detection Time

How long benzos stay in your system depends on the benzodiazepine half-life. The half-life refers to the amount of time in which half of the drug leaves a person’s system.

For example:

  • The half-life of short-acting benzodiazepines, like Xanax, ranges between 6 to 12 hours. This class of drugs clears relatively quickly.
  • Long-acting benzodiazepines, like Valium, have a half-life of up to 20 to 50 hours, meaning much more time is needed to get them out of the system.

 

Benzos with longer half-lives take more time to fully clear, which influences how long they stay detectable in your body.

Why Benzodiazepine Detection Times Matter

Whether it’s to prepare for a potential employment, legal, or therapeutic drug test, knowing how much time the medication remains in the body is important.

Understanding timelines means you can prepare yourself and avoid surprise situations. If you’re in recovery or managing the use of benzodiazepine, being aware of detection times will also help you make informed decisions about your health and your next steps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most benzodiazepines can be detected in urine within 3-7 days following the intake, depending on dosage and metabolic problems, while the long-acting forms, like Valium, when regularly used in massive doses, can show up in the urine for as long as two weeks.

Does the half-life of a benzodiazepine affect how long it stays in your system?

Yes, a benzodiazepine’s half-life significantly affects how long it remains detectable. Short-acting benzos like Xanax may clear from the body more quickly, while long-acting types like Valium have extended detection times due to their slower elimination rate.

Yes, it all depends on one or more of the following variables: age, metabolic rate, liver functionality, leanness of the body, and dosage ingested. It’s important to note that even if two people are taking the same amount of benzodiazepines, they can still have very different results.

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Key Takeaways

Healing From Benzodiazepine Addiction at Cornerstone Healing Center

Knowing how long benzos stay in your system is useful, especially if you’re preparing for drug screening. Having a good understanding of the detection methods and the various factors that apply to its clearance will better equip you to face these challenges with confidence.

If you or a loved one need guidance through benzodiazepine use, please feel free to contact us at Cornerstone Healing Center today. We can provide more information about our benzo treatment and recovery options and help take the next step in the healing process.

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Author & Reviewers

lionel estrada lisac clinical director
CLINICAL DIRECTOR & REVIEWER

Lionel is the Clinical Director of Cornerstone’s Scottsdale treatment facilities. He has had over 4 years at Cornerstone. He is personally in recovery and passionate about helping others overcome substance abuse and mental health challenges; he is trained as an EMDR, adopting a trauma-informed approach to treat the underlying issues.

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