As this is a blog about sleep difficulties then let me say it now, you shouldn’t be drinking coffee. There are no doubts surrounding the negative effects that caffeine has on sleeping patterns. However, as this is also a blog about practical solutions then read on.
I have a mantra, which you will no doubt tire of hearing, and it is that ‘bedtime starts at 7am’. Many of the things that you do throughout the day will ultimately influence your sleep later that night. This is never more apparent than when you consume caffeine.
The vicious descending spiral of feeling exhausted due to a lack of sleep and the need to have copious amounts of coffee to help you get through the day, is one that we will have all experienced at some time. As an occasional solution it is understandable, but if you are having on-going sleeping difficulties then consuming coffee is just making things worse.
Caffeine is absorbed very quickly, and its stimulating effects can rapidly kick-in, but it can take between 5 and 6 hours for half of it to be eliminated from your system. In simple terms, this means that if you have a cup of coffee at 2pm then half of the caffeine consumed could still be influencing your systems at 8pm in the evening. Just think about that for a second. There won’t be many people who think that having half a cup of coffee before bedtime is beneficial to a good night’s sleep.
There is enough evidence available to conclude that caffeine has a disruptive influence on sleep so let’s simplify things and just do the maths. If you have a Grande latte (150mg of caffeine) at 8am, 10am, 12pm and 2pm then at 8pm you will still have over 90mgs of caffeine in your system – that’s not going to help you get to sleep. This is also the same for energy drink consumption – a small can of Red Bull has over 75mgs of caffeine in it.
The speed with which you metabolise caffeine is unique to you. Your age, gender, genetics and caffeine sensitivity are just a few of the factors that dictate how long the effects linger within the body, so I am aware that I am making a lot of generalisations, but you get the idea.
Be aware as well that caffeine hides in many other places in your diet. Chocolate, breakfast cereals, green tea and ice cream are just a few things that may add to your combined daily total, and some medicines and prescriptions may have caffeine lurking amongst their ingredients – an Anadin Extra tablet contains 45 mgs!
Practical Tip – Caffeine
The purpose of this blog is to deal with sleep issues in the bustling modern world. With that in mind then the obvious advice is that you should completely cut out coffee, however if that is not an option for you then restrict your overall consumption and make sure that you do not put any caffeine into your system after 2pm.
It would be far more beneficial for you to use the words cappuccino, americano, espresso and mocha as a relaxing meditation mantra than as part of a late afternoon coffee request.
Sleep well.
Simon Egan 