|
Coffee and Sleep
Studies have shown that one strong cup of coffee, drunk 30 to 60 minutes
before sleep, can cause restlessness and difficulty falling asleep. And
when sleep eventually comes, it is usually very light sleep, with a
tendency to be awakened easily by sudden noises, and the overall sleep
quality decreases. There are also increased body movements during sleep.
To some people who are extra sensitive to caffeine, a cup of coffee before
bed is enough to make them stay awake the whole night.
Although caffeine in coffee may have an effect on sleep quality, it really
depends on whether the user is a heavy coffee drinker. Seasoned coffee
drinkers may have a higher tolerance to the effects of caffeine. They
often sleep lesser, but have grown accustomed to this pattern. They may
think that they have sufficient sleep, but in actual fact they have not.
For non-seasoned coffee drinkers, the effects of caffeine are often more
pronounced, with many of them reporting more difficulty falling asleep and
staying asleep.
Caffeine, besides a disrupter of quality sleep, is also a cause of other
health problems like irregular heartbeats, headache, nausea, giddiness and
restlessness. High doses of caffeine can cause anxiety attacks, vomiting
and breathing difficulties. If you are a coffee drinker and are
experiencing any of these symptoms, you are likely to be suffering from
caffeine addiction. Long term health problems associated with caffeine
include heartburns, heart diseases and even ulcers.
If you want to cut down on your coffee intake, do it gradually. Start off
by reducing by one cup per day for the entire week. Once you’ve adjusted,
try cutting down on another cup the following week and so on. Do not
completely stop your coffee intake abruptly. This could cause very strong
withdrawal symptoms like headaches (which will only go away by drinking
more coffee!), lethargy, confusion and lack of concentration.
If you’re an irregular coffee drinker, then the caffeine shouldn’t have
too much effect on you. But to make sure that your occasional coffee
indulgence doesn’t affect your sleep, try to avoid drinking coffee from
the late afternoon onwards.
|
