I’m a sleep expert — this daily habit may be why you have insomnia
This will be a tall order for coffee lovers.
Sleep specialist and clinical psychologist Michael Breus says that the best way to mitigate sleeplessness is to cut off java consumption early in the day.
“The No. 1 mistake coffee drinkers make that impacts sleep is drinking it past noon,” he told Well+Good this week.
“Because caffeine can have a lasting stimulant effect, it can get in the way of your sleep and raise your risk of insomnia,” Breus added.
If the idea of eliminating your afternoon cup is too much to bear — or bean, as it were — Breus says that you can stretch the cutoff time to 2 p.m.
“Experts often suggest keeping away from caffeine for at least eight hours before bed, but you can adjust this based on your own sensitivity to caffeine,” he noted.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 80% of US adults consume caffeine every day — and research shows the first sip is the strongest.
Within 45 minutes of consumption, 99% of caffeine is absorbed by the body. But the half-life of that caffeine — the amount of time it takes your system to reduce it to half of its original amount — ranges from 1.5 to 9.5 hours.
Caffeine can make it more difficult to fall and stay asleep since it competes with adenosine, a naturally occurring chemical in the body that promotes drowsiness.
Adenosine, a neurotransmitter, collects in the body throughout the day and helps to regulate sleep-wake cycles. Caffeine disrupts this process, keeping us wide-eyed when it’s high time for shut-eye.
It’s important to note that everyone metabolizes caffeine differently.
Genetics play a role in how long caffeine keeps you wired — some folks only need a single cup to power them through the day, while others maintain a full-pot habit.
Despite the negative correlation between caffeine and sleep, coffee does offer various health benefits.
A known mood booster, coffee has also been shown to support weight management and reduce the risk of cancer, heart failure and even Type 2 diabetes.
Breus says that the key to reaping these rewards is to stick to an early-afternoon cutoff time and skip the sweet stuff, as sugar is inflammatory and can further agitate sleep cycles.
Experts including Breus also advise delaying your first cup of coffee till 90 minutes after waking.
Holding off for this hour and a half is said to help balance hormones, particularly cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone.
“[The] rise and fall of cortisol [after waking up] represents a healthy nervous system and actually has a big influence over our immune health and even risk of autoimmune development,” Abigail Hueber, a functional dietitian and digestive health expert, explained to Well+Good.
“Pausing on caffeine for the first 90 minutes helps to promote the most balanced [cortisol-awakening response] and can even better support our energy levels throughout the day,” she added.