Caffeine and Sleep

We all know that person (or are that person) who consumes pots and pots of coffee throughout the day. Coffee, tea, soda, and energy drinks all contain caffeine; the most used psychostimulant in the world, but will all the energy your cup of joe gives you, how can it affect your sleep?

When you drink a cup of coffee or any other caffeinated beverage, the caffeine is quickly absorbed by the stomach and small intestine. This then travels through the blood stream to take effect. In the brain, caffeine blocks the adenosine receptors, the chemical that makes us feel sleepy, allowing us to feel more alert and energized.

Unfortunately, this caffeine can affect our circadian rhythm, the system responsible for ensuring we fall asleep at night and are awake during the day. How to best address this is by understanding how much caffeine you take and the half-life of caffeine. An 8-ounce cup of coffee contains roughly 90 mg of caffeine and the half-life of caffeine is 5 hours. This means if you drink your coffee at 9 am, you will have 45 mg left in your body at 2 pm, 22.5mg at 7 pm, etc. By ensuring you don’t drink coffee during the nighttime and by the time you go to bed, have no more than 50 mg of caffeine in your system.

We hope you found this article useful in evaluating your own caffeine intake. We at Fox Mattress are committed to ensuring you have a blissful sleep every night. Check out our website or our Holly Hill location to try our two-sided premium flip mattress today!