What is the real impact of coffee on your sleep?

Some of us rely on coffee to get us through the day, but what affect is it having on your night’s rest?

Sleep is one of the key pillars of health alongside nutrition, exercise and social activity. A good night’s sleep can directly impact your energy levels and concentration abilities, and making sleep a priority can have numerous benefits for your physical and mental wellbeing in the long run.

But for all its benefits, sleep is also a fickle thing, with everything from temperature to diet having the power to throw a spanner in the works when it comes to sleep quality. And one of the most common offenders is coffee.

According to Nescafe, the UK alone drinks 95 million cups of coffee a day. Its caffeinated goodness is a crutch many of us use to stave off tiredness, but what does this mean for your sleep? That’s what we’re exploring today.

The impact of caffeine on sleep

Coffee is high in caffeine; it’s what makes it such a popular beverage for those looking for a pick me up during the day. Caffeine causes a burst of energy that stimulates the central nervous system, which can give you the boost you need in the morning to start your day right. However, drinking significant amounts of caffeine – or drinking caffeine too close to bedtime – can impact the onset of sleep, reducing sleep time, efficiency and quality. Notably, caffeine can reduce the longevity of slow wave sleep, which is the stage of deep, restful sleep that helps us feel refreshed on waking.

When caffeine interrupts your sleep, you may suffer from a sleep deficit the following day, leading to fatigue, memory problems, trouble regulating emotions and more.

How much caffeine does coffee contain?

Coffee is one of the most popular caffeinated drinks on the market, and also contains some of the highest levels of caffeine, even when compared to energy drinks, soda and tea.

An 8 ounce cup of coffee contains 95-200mg of caffeine on average – a significant dose that can stay in the body for many hours.

As such, we need to be careful with how many coffees we drink during the day. After all, it’s easy to build up a tolerance to caffeine, whereby the body needs more and more to feel the effects. According to the FDA, safe daily caffeine consumption sits at around 400mg, but pregnant women, older adults and teenagers may feel the impact of caffeine drinking significantly less.

What should your caffeine curfew be?

As well as how much caffeine you drink, you should also monitor when you drink your coffee. One study published in 2013 in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine explored the impact of caffeine when consumed 0, 3 and 6 hours before bed. Researchers found that even caffeine consumed six hours before bed could reduce sleep time by as much as one hour.

This means that if you plan on going to bed at 10pm, you should have stopped drinking coffee by 4pm. You may find that you sleep better when you cut off your coffee consumption in the early afternoon. This simple change of habit could lead to better sleep quality, and feeling more rested every day.

The best sleep happens on a high quality mattress, so check out the Perks range now. You can also explore the rest of our blog for more sleep news and tips.