How long before bed should I stop caffeine?
Caffeine has a half-life of about five hours in the body. A 4 pm coffee still has half its dose circulating at 9 pm and a quarter at 2 am. Slow metabolizers, and that is genetic, feel it even longer.
The practical rule: last caffeine eight hours before bed, and note the hidden sources, tea, cola, energy drinks, chocolate, some painkillers.
The cruel loop: late caffeine fragments deep sleep, the tired morning demands more caffeine, and the cycle self-sustains while sleep quietly degrades. Breaking it takes about a week of earlier cutoffs.
Source: American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleep and caffeine
See a doctor promptly if
- Loud snoring with pauses in breathing, waking gasping, or falling asleep during the day despite time in bed. This suggests sleep apnea and needs assessment
- Falling asleep while driving or operating machinery, or any near-miss from sleepiness
- Acting out dreams, shouting, or physically moving during sleep
- Insomnia with low mood, loss of interest, or any thoughts of harming yourself
- New insomnia with weight loss, night sweats, palpitations or breathlessness lying flat
- Sudden loss of the need for sleep while feeling energetic and full of ideas. This needs prompt medical review
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Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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