Does coffee wake you up – and keep you awake?
When it comes to sleep, you constantly hear: don’t drink coffee too late in the day! It’s one of the most common sleep tips – but is it good advice? Can too much caffeine can be disruptive to your regular sleep routine? The popularity of energized drinks and snacks – especially in children – are on the rise.
It doesn’t take much effort to measure your daily caffeine intake. But how late is too late in the day to consume caffeine? What’s a good amount of caffeine to consume in one serving? Are there long term effects from consuming caffeine?
The science behind caffeine
We may love our caffeine but what is it? Caffeine comes from the German word, kafee and the French word café, meaning coffee. Caffeine, one of the most-used psychoactive drugs in the world, is a stimulant found in more than 60 types of plants – most commonly tea leaves, coffee beans & cocoa beans. Caffeine produces an intensely bitter white powder when purified creating a distinctive taste in drinks. After ingesting, the drug is completely absorbed within 30 – 45 minutes and can last up to 4 hours, depending on the amount.
Can you consume too much caffeine? Surprisingly, the amount of caffeine a product isn’t listed on the food label. If there were dangers to consuming too much caffeine the law would require it, right? Unfortunately, the law has not caught up yet. Read more: Medicinenet.com.
Does caffeine before bed reduce sleep? Drinking coffee might be a great way to round off your evening meal or perk you up in the late afternoon, but it may disrupt your sleep later when you’re set to retire for the night. Consuming caffeine 3 and even 6 hours before bedtime can reduce total sleep time by more than 1 hour each night. Read more: Medicalnewstoday.com
Can caffeine disrupt sleep for morning people, but not night owls? Caffeine will get you going for the day but may leave you tossing in bed at night – unless you’re a “night owl” – suggests a study from Sleep Medicine. The study claims “morning people” who consumed caffeine during the day appeared more likely to awaken in the middle of the night when compared to “night owls”. Read more: ScientificAmerican.com
Is caffeine keeping you awake? Ironically, not only can too much caffeine cause sleep problems, but cutting down on caffeine intake can temporally result in sleep issues while the body goes through withdrawal. Excessive caffeine can also cause frequent urination – and multiple trips to the bathroom during the night. Read more: EverydayHealth.com
How can you improve your daily caffeine routine? Want to enjoy caffeine without wrecking your sleep? Follow these basic suggestions for consuming caffeine in a sleep-friendly way. Read more: Psycologytoday.com
