How can you tell if caffeine is affecting your sleep?

Are you one of those who cannot spend a day without a cup of tea or coffee? You are not alone, about 80% of adults consume caffeine daily. They rely on caffeine’s energizing effects to enhance their mood and optimize their performance.

• Fact: Caffeine is found naturally in many plants, including coffee beans, tea leaves and kola nuts. Synthetic caffeine is also added to medication and energy drinks.

Have difficulty falling and staying asleep? Feeling nausea, headaches, or nervousness? This could be signs of caffeine. While caffeine is frequently used to counteract sleepiness and boost performance, its consumption is commonly avoided in the evening to prevent adverse consequences.

Caffeine is a common tool to promote wakefulness in the morning and ward off sleepiness during the day. However, if consumed too late in the day, the alertness-promoting effects of caffeine can linger into the evening and interfere with sleep. It can make you fall asleep later, sleep less hours overall, and make your sleep less satisfying.

These occurs when the caffeine blocks adenosine receptors. Adenosine is sleep promoting chemical that is produced in the brain during our waking hours.

• Adenosine builds up in the brain the longer you are awake, and the more it builds up the sleepier you become.

When caffeine blocks this process, you remain alert and vigilant. But this will interfere with your sleep. However, the feeling does vary depending on various factors such as caffeine dose, how frequently you consume caffeine, and even your genetic makeup.

How much hours before bedtime should you have caffeine and how much is safe to consume?

The food and drug administration (FDA) indicates that it is generally safe for adults to consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day.

The generally recommended cutoff time for caffeine use is a minimum of eight hours before bedtime.

NB: The effects of caffeine intake on the quality and quantity of sleep depend on the timing of its consumption. More specifically, caffeine consumed in the evening hours prolongs sleep latency, reduces total sleep time, shortens deep sleep, and decreases.

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