How Does Coffee Affect Sleep? (Solved & Explained!)

Coffee, a drink that contains high amounts of caffeine can reduce the amount of sleep you normally get in a day by blocking the sleep promoting receptors (adenosine) in your brain, keeping it more alert and awake. The effects occur a few hours after ingestion, a study shows that consuming coffee 6 hours before sleeping reduces your total sleeping time by an hour.

This article tells you more in depth about the sleep disrupting effects of coffee, as well as the pros and cons of ingesting it, and the health precautions to take.

How does caffeine affect your body and brain?

Caffeine is a type of stimulant drug that promotes alertness; according to American Academy of Sleep Medicine, caffeine blocks the adenosine receptors in your body, which keeps you from feeling sleepy. Caffeine starts affecting your body an hour after ingestion and the effects last for about 4-6 hours (depending on the caffeine content), after which you start feeling sleepy.

How does coffee keep you awake for long periods of time?

When consumed, the caffeine gradually reaches your bloodstream and brain, initiating its most prominent effect; keeping you alert, productive and awake for longer periods of time. It does so by disrupting your internal clock aka the circadian rhythm (which tells you when to sleep and wake up), shifting it ahead an hour, making you get less sleep, as reported by NBC.

Does coffee affect the quality along with the quantity of my sleep?

We know that coffee reduces the quantity of sleep you get in a day, which is helpful if you have a project submission the next day, but how does it affect the quality of sleep you get through the night? Coffee can make it harder for you to fall asleep, reducing the amount of sleeping hours you actually enjoy, and can cause lighter or more easily disturbed sleep.

How long can coffee keep me awake for?

Depends when you’ve consumed it; drinking coffee an hour before sleeping will delay your sleeping time by 3+ hours, even drinking it 6 hours prior is known to cause a delay in sleeping for most people, as shown in a research conducted by Houston Methodist Hospital. Ideally, you should be able to sleep normally if you drink coffee 4-6 hours prior to your bedtime.

How do cups of coffee affect the hours I can stay awake for?

The normal amount of coffee cups you can drink in a day is 2-4, depending on when you drink it. If you drink 2 cups around eve, your sleep schedule will be delayed more because of the high caffeine content still present in your bloodstream, as opposed to if you divide your caffeine intake among the hours of the day (giving your body more time to filter it out).

How does the caffeine content of my coffee affect my sleeping patterns?

According to the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 400 mg of caffeine or 2 cups of coffee drunk 6 hours before sleeping can delay your natural sleeping time by 40-60 minutes. This sleep tardiness or disruption effect would naturally be more substantial if your coffee is highly caffeinated as opposed to when it’s not.

What type of coffee affects sleep more?

A cold brew has 200 mg of caffeine per cup, an espresso shot has 63 mg, and a latte cup has around 80-120 mg (depending on the size of the cup); the caffeine content corresponds to the amount of time the coffee can help you stay awake.

A highly caffeinated coffee which helps you sleep lesser is Devil mountain: Black label, with a caffeine content of over 1550 mg per cup.

I drink a cup of coffee first thing in the morning; does that help ward off leftover sleep?

Drinking coffee first thing in the morning may help ward off excess sleep and instill alertness, but according to medical research, drinking coffee on an empty stomach may also disrupt your cortisol (stress hormone) levels. In the morning when cortisol is high, drinking coffee disrupts its production, making it possible for higher levels of cortisol to be produced during the night, stressing you out more than usual.

Is drinking too much daily coffee to avoid sleep unhealthy?

Regular consumption of coffee can produce negative side effects:

• Upset stomach – disrupting your digestive cycle and eating patterns.
• Nausea and sweating – making you feel dizzy and break out in cold sweat often.
• Erratic heart rate and breathing – because of the alerting effects of coffee.
• Insomnia – constant use of coffee is known to cause consistent insomnia.

How much coffee can I drink in a day?

An average person can drink 300-400 mg (3-4 cups) of coffee per day, however, your daily coffee intake also depends on your age and health:

• Nursing or pregnant women should consume only 1-2 cups of coffee per day.
• Children’s coffee intake should be minimized.
• People with high blood pressure or cardiac problems should avoid coffee with high caffeine contents.

Is the caffeine in coffee addictive?

Caffeine, just like any other drug can be addictive if consumed regularly over time, as stated by Addiction Center. Because of the sustained chemical changes in the brain caused by caffeine, people become dependent on coffee after a while and their tolerance builds up, making it harder to stop consuming it abruptly.

What happens if I stop drinking coffee for a few days?

If you’re a regular consumer of coffee, halting its consumption for a few days can cause the following bodily changes and withdrawal symptoms:

• Mood swings – making you feel irritable and lash out at the smallest of things.
• Low energy levels – feeling drowsy and dizzy throughout the day.
• Sleepiness – caffeine wears off, adenosine receptors activate, making you sleepy.
• Headaches – because of the adjustment of chemical imbalances in the brain

I know someone who sleeps normally after drinking coffee; why is that so?

Some people’s sleep patterns don’t get affected even after consistent consumption of coffee, because of 2 things; their metabolism and adenosine receptors. People with a fast metabolism rate can break down caffeine faster than normal people, and some have adenosine receptors which don’t bind well with caffeine, making them sleep normally.