Is Coffee The Problem
Caffeine is one of the most popular stimulants worldwide. Its effects are pronounced and quick since its so readily absorbed by your body. However, your bodys reactions to it are short lived. When it wears off, youll likely feel a drop in energy which can make your sleepy.
Its not the caffeine, but its absence that makes you tired. And if you throw low blood sugar and dehydration into the mix, you have the recipe for a sleepy afternoon. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent it and keep you productive all day long.
Related Articles
How To Reduce Caffeine Intake
If you’ve been consuming a stimulant-laced brew for months or years, and you feel deprived when you don’t have caffeine, your body may be addicted to it. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the authoritative guide used by mental health professionals worldwide, includes caffeine withdrawal as a recognized diagnosis.
According to an article in the September 2014 issue of Current Addiction Reports, some people are physiologically and psychologically addicted to caffeine, although the prevalence and severity is not known. Researchers note that although some individuals are addicted, most people can consume the stimulant without problems.
To change your high-octane habit, the Mayo Clinic has these suggestions:
- Keep tabs on your regular caffeine intake by reading labels so you know just how much caffeine you’re consuming. Also, be aware that some foods or drinks containing caffeine don’t list it on the label.
- Cut back gradually. If you’ve been drinking caffeinated beverages throughout the day, start cutting back on the later beverages first. Try to drink one less caffeinated drink a day at first, and gradually increase that.
- Add in decaf beverages if you’re concerned about giving up flavor. Many of these taste similar to full-strength beverages, but with very little or no caffeine.
- Brew your tea for less time or replace caffeinated regular tea with herbal tea, which has no caffeine.
Read more:Healthy Alternatives to 6 Popular Energy Drinks
Caffeine Can Affect Stress
Known as the stress hormone, cortisol levels can be lifted by drinking caffeine. When cortisol levels are raised, it can put you on high alert, leading to feelings of anxiety and stress that can keep you up at night.
Although anxiety and stress might make you feel more awake in the moment, they can lead to feelings of fatigue later on in the day. If youre struggling to fall asleep because of stress, you might want to try the military method or the 4-7-8 method, both of which can help you relax and ease anxiety so you can fall back asleep at night.
Read Also: Is Decaf Coffee Actually Caffeine Free
Preventing The Afternoon Slump
You can prevent that caffeine crash by maintaining some level of caffeine in your body and avoiding the secondary causes of sleepiness. You can switch to a form that has less caffeine like tea in the afternoon, especially if the consumption affects your sleep at night.
Also, stay hydrated when drinking any caffeinated product. As a good rule of thumb, drink one glass of water for every cup of coffee. And you may want to consider using less sugar in your joe to prevent a sugar crash. That way, you can prevent sleepiness that may occur when afterward.
Reasons Why Coffee Makes You Tired
Coffee is traditionally a method of boosting energy, but for many people, it can make them tired. Caffeine affects people differently, and while there are multiple explanations, three possible answers to the question “why does coffee make me tired?” hold the key in the majority of situations.
1. Effects on Adrenal Glands
When you consume caffeine, this stimulates your adrenal glands so they release adrenalin, the hormone your body uses in “fight or flight” situation. This in turn increases the breathing and heart rate, increases blood flowing to your muscles, and dilates your pupils. This adrenalin release is designed to happen only in some cases when you have severe physical stress.
If, however, you consume excessive quantities of caffeine, you encourage an adrenal response which is sustained and exhausts the glands. This means that the glands can no longer produce the small quantities of adrenalin you need to maintain concentration and focus, leading to malaise and physical fatigue.
2. Effects on Insulin
If you are wondering “why does coffee make me tired?” another reason is the way the caffeine affects your insulin, dampening its sensitivity. Insulin detects sugar within the bloodstream and makes sure the body uptakes it to produce energy. When your insulin doesnt work correctly, you have less sugar accessible as energy, leading to a feeling of tiredness.
3. Effects on Sleep
Recommended Reading: Diet Snapple Lemon Tea Caffeine
Can Coffee Make You Sleepy
Most people drink coffee to wake them up, so its surprising when you start to feel sleepy soon after your morning cup. If youve ever experienced this, you might be wondering, can coffee make you sleepy?
If you feel tired after drinking coffee, theres normally a reason why. Youll find out why coffee makes you tired in this article, as well as how to prevent any caffeine crashes in the future.
Feeling Hungry After Caffeine
Some people experience extreme hunger after drinking something caffeinated because their bodies have tapped their sources of readily available glucose. Remember, the brain and heart have increased their activity and have used more energy too.
That means there is less sugar in your blood. Breaking down stored energy takes time. In the meantime, you may feel a sudden and urgent pang of hunger as your body reacts to low fuel. And it certainly doesnt help that hypoglycemia and dehydration cause similar effects.
All of these unpleasant feelings en masse create an impression that will stick with you. You may feel eager to find a cause to avoid a repeat performance. That sets up the perfect storm to make the correlation between tiredness and caffeine.
Don’t Miss: Diet Snapple Raspberry Tea Caffeine
Are There Healthy Alternatives To Energy Drinks
While energy beverages can help boost performance, the effect is only short-lived.
More importantly, the potent combo of caffeine and sugar may cause you to overclock yourself. To get the same performance-enhancing benefits, look for an energy drink that is made using organic green tea caffeine like the ones found here at Proper Wild.
Proper Wilds Clean All Day Energy Shots use a combo of organic caffeine from green tea paired with L-Theanine for increased focus and productivity, without the notorious caffeine crash. Additionally, these shots are made with zero grams of added sugar – which is pretty rare to find in anything these days!
Stay away from energy drinks that are loaded with synthetic caffeine, sugar, and artificial ingredients. When looking for a healthy energy drink, stick with clean choices, like Proper Wild.
Time Your Coffee Intake
Research shows that drinking coffee six hours before bedtime can interrupt your sleep. To avoid this, try timing when you drink coffee. Keep caffeinated drinks to the morning and switch to decaf in the afternoon. You can also try implementing foods that promote sleep in the evening, like warm milk, bananas, or almonds.
Don’t Miss: Verismo Pods Target
Six Reasons Coffee Can Make You Sleepy
We know coffee mostly as our wake-up drink. We have one, two, or even three cups, and were ready to face our day. And while coffee has many different ingredients,
We know coffee mostly as our wake-up drink. We have one, two, or even three cups, and were ready to face our day. And while coffee has many different ingredients, its caffeine that receives themost attention.Verified SourceHarvard HealthBlog run by Harvard Medical School offering in-depth guides to better health and articles on medical breakthroughs.View source
IngestingcaffeineVerified SourceMedline PlusOnline resource offered by the National Library of Medicine and part of the National Institutes of Health.View sourcestimulates your central nervous system, which wakes you up and feels more energetic. However, what about when coffee doesnt seem to wake you up and leaves you feeling sleepy instead? Has the caffeine failed you?
Coffee can affect your body in various ways, and how it affects you is different for everyone. Weve compiled a list of six reasons why coffee might leave you feeling sleepy.
When you drink coffee, yourstomach and small intestine absorbsVerified SourceHarvard HealthBlog run by Harvard Medical School offering in-depth guides to better health and articles on medical breakthroughs.View sourcethe caffeine and redistributes it through your bloodstream to multiple parts of your body, including your brain. After caffeine reaches your brain, it sticks to your adenosine receptors.
Some People Build A Tolerance To Caffeine
People who regularly consume coffee and other caffeinated beverages can develop a tolerance to it. Since caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, the body produces more adenosine receptors to counteract the effects of frequent caffeine consumption.
In one small study , researchers examined the effects of continuous caffeine consumption on the cycling performance of 11 physically active adults.
At the start of the study, the participants had higher heart rates and exerted greater cycling power after drinking caffeine. After 15 days, however, the effects of the caffeine began to decrease.
Given these results, it appears that people who regularly consume caffeine may build up a tolerance to its stimulant effects.
However, other research has suggested that continuous exposure to caffeine how the body absorbs or metabolizes it.
Also Check: How To Clean Mr Coffee Water Reservoir
How Long Should You Wait Between Caffeine And Bedtime
Sanja Jelic, MD is board-certified in pulmonary disease, sleep medicine, critical care medicine, and internal medicine. She is an assistant professor and attending physician at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, NY.
Lisa Sullivan, MS, is a nutritionist and health and wellness educator with nearly 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry.
Caffeine can be one of the great joys of life. However, if you have difficulty falling asleep, as occurs with insomnia, caffeine in coffee, tea, or soda may be the bane of your existence. Learn how much time should elapse after consuming caffeine and what symptoms you might experience if you dont wait long enough before going to sleep.
Sweeteners On Blood Sugar
This isnt much of a problem for black coffee drinkers, but if you add sugar or sweeteners to your cup, these could be causing more harm than the caffeine.
Sugar, syrup, honey, or artificial sweeteners may cause a sugar crash. Your body starts to produce more insulin as a response to sugar in the system. Insulin reduces blood glucose levels, causing low blood sugar. Sugar crashes can make you feel anxious, hungry, and tired.
If youre feeling tired after a cup of coffee, try removing sugar or sweeteners and see if it makes a difference. If youre still feeling tired, it may be the caffeine instead of sugar, and vice versa.
Read Also: How To Brew Dunkin Donuts Coffee At Home
Why Does Drinking Coffee Make Me Feel More Tired Dietitians Explain The Caffeine Crash
Many people drink coffee for the caffeine boost that helps them feel more awake, but have you ever finished your cup of joe and actually experienced the opposite effect, feeling more tired? POPSUGAR reached out to two registered dietitians to find out why, and what you can do in the morning to feel more energetic.
How Coffee Disrupt Sleep
When we consume caffeine, it prevents adenosine from binding to receptors in the brain. This means you will not feel yourself growing tired. That sounds great. Feel less tired, have more energy, get more done. Right? Well, the problem is at the end of the day your brain should be tired and ready to sleep. Instead, the espresso shot you had mid-afternoon reset the clock, and your brain only thinks youve been up for six or seven hours. This ultimately makes it more difficult to fall asleep in the evening, meaning you sleep fewer hours, and feel more tired the next day.
Another result from this is that you dont feel yourself growing tired until the caffeine wears off. The half-life of caffeine is five hours. This means every five hours the amount of caffeine in your system is reduced by half. The cup of coffee you have at six in the morning has halved by 11 a.m., and again by 4 p.m. As the caffeine wears off we begin to feel the sleep pressure thats been growing throughout the day. All of a sudden, say mid-afternoon, we feel tired. We crash. And this crash is what sends us to the barista to get a little pick-me-up.
Recommended Reading: Kazaar Meaning
Adenosine Receptors Are Getting Blocked
Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep. After your ingest coffee, it travels through your bloodstream to different parts of your body. When caffeine enters the brain, it competes with adenosine to create a greater sense of alertness and wakefulness. This process is how caffeine can suddenly jolt you with energy.
Caffeine latches and blocks adenosine receptors, stopping the brain from processing these sleep-inducing molecules. After a few cups of joe throughout the day, adenosine builds up and once the caffeine metabolizes in your body, you can end up feeling more fatigued.
The accumulation of excess adenosine can often last until the next morning. People who consume large columns of caffeine each day and wake up groggy are likely such in a cycle of adenosine buildup.
Too much caffeine over a prolonged period of time can impact the sleep cycle and some may feel they dont get the same caffeine boost they used to. Drinking too much coffee can therefore actually damage your baseline energy levels, causing an overreliance, which is why some people get addicted to caffeine.
The solution? Take note of how many times coffee makes you feel sleepy. If you notice its a daily thing, then this is a sign that you may need to work on improving your sleep cycle. It can help to ensure you have the most comfortable mattress and bedroom set up to support healthy sleep habits.
Recommended Reading: Does Bai Drink Have Caffeine
The Dairy Is Affecting You
Dairy contains tryptophan, an amino acid that has been linked to promoting sleep. While this can be great to wind down at night, it could be counterproductive in your morning latte.
Its important to note that while tryptophan can contribute to drowsiness, milk only contains a relatively small percentage of it so the likelihood of a little dairy in your coffee making you tired is relatively low.
However, if you try swapping out the dairy in your coffee with a plant-based alternative and notice yourself feeling more alert, it might be a sign that its worth ditching the A.M. dairy consumption.
Also Check: Verismo Coffee Pods
Caffeine Affects Stress Levels
As you drink coffee, caffeine enters your system, but it can also increase levels of cortisol. When this stress hormone is raised, the body can feel anxious and stressed, which can keep you awake. Anxiety can make you feel on edge, but as the day goes on, you can feel tired as these feelings subside.
How Long Does Caffeine Stay In Your System
Caffeine can stay in your system for up to 10 hours. After drinking caffeine, you may start to feel the effects in as little as 15 minutes, but typically peaking after around an hour. About six hours after initial consumption, half of the caffeine is still in your system, and it finally exits your system a full 10 hours later.
Also Check: How Much Caffeine In Large Mcdonalds Iced Coffee
Who Is Better To Go With Decaffeinated Coffee
Coffee still has its place as the first best hot beverage. However, some people with special cases are better to shift to the decaffeinated option.
Check out our latest posts:
Is Caffeine Bad For You
Caffeine consumption itself isnt bad for you. However, caffeine does have the potential to become habit-forming. If youre a habitual caffeine drinker, you may experience the side effects of excessive intake such as anxiety, trouble sleeping, restlessness, and an irregular heartbeat.
To safely consume caffeine, its essential to monitor your intake. The FDA recommends a maximum of 400 milligrams per day for most adults, equivalent to four 8-ounce cups of coffee.
If youve been struggling to wake up after your cup of joe, it could be a sign that there are other factors at play. You may want to try waking yourself up naturally to make that A.M. transition a little easier on your body.
A wakeful and productive morning starts with a good quality sleep the night before. If youre ready to catch some Zs, check out our innovative mattresses for serious coziness all night long.Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice.
Recommended Reading: Can You Use Verismo Pods In A Keurig
You May Be Dehydrated
Fatigue is just one sign of dehydration. Since coffee is a diuretic, which means it makes you pee, it might be possible to drink so much coffee and pee so much that you become dehydrated.
But Dr. Greene says thats an extreme and unlikely scenario. More often than not, other factors contribute to the general lethargy, he says.
The truth is that coffee is not as dehydrating as many people think. It still contains water, which means that it can still count toward your daily liquid consumption. That said, if you are dehydrated, its best to reach for a glass of water instead of a cup of coffee.