Perhaps a GQ thing, but it fits in with this thread so nicely.
I absolutely adore coffee and am about to spend sqillions on an espresso machine and grinder. However, if I drink it after five I lie awake for ages. My mother and father happily slurp three cups after dinner without it causing mush trouble.
So, I’m wondering. If I step it up gradually, will I have less trouble sleeping after caffeine? Or is this just the way my body is set up (seemingly not genetic if so)?
P.s. No health lectures. I do not care.
P.p.s. I also do not care for decaff.
P.p.p.s. Apologies if this thread causes Shirley cravings.
This thread title should be submitted to the ambiguous sentances thread. I thought you wanted to know how to make caffeine out of yourself. I was perplexed, and actually had a few ideas.
WAG Way to go! Inhale more caffeine and sleep better?
You are already sensitized to caffeine. The more caffeine the less sleep!
Cut down on the caffeine intake. Do NOT intake caffeine after 2 or 3 PM.
At one time I drank a full pot of coffee when studying around midnight.
Worked two jobs Christmas time, drank coffee to keep awake, resorted to “No-Doze” when coffee failed. After 5 days of this Christmas was past and I fell into bed to sleep fitfully for 24 hours. Was very intolerant to coffee past noon, or a bad night ahead. It took many years to get desenstized to the caffeine. Even now too much caffeine late in day is a NO NO!
Another side effect you may notice is; after stopping caffeine, you may get constipated for a bit. it happened to me. I am regular now, but after quitting coffee completely, it made my system much, much better.
I said that before five it doesn’t bother me, why would I not have a cup of divine drink of gods at three? I never said I was having trouble sleeping already, just that I wonder if it’s possible to get more coffee in and still sleep. If that’s impossible (and you may well be right) I may also still prefer mild insomnia and an extra cup.
I don’t see why you can’t get used to it. I certainly did.
I normally drink a large cup of strong tea (Orange Pekoe) just before going to bed. I don’t have any trouble sleeping. I also drink another large tea in the morning, 1 Tim Horton’s extra large french vanilla cappuccino and another tea (in the same cup) in the afternoon during work.
I figure this is just as bad as people who drink pop (which I don’t) so my vice doesn’t bother me.
I think you can get used to caffeine. I think the body can adapt to caffeine and build up a tolerance, making you feel less and less stimulated by the caffeine. Personally, I’m not as sensitive to caffeine as I used to be. I enjoy my cup of coffee in the morning, and it’s the first thing I ingest everyday. But I have been in emergency, “no coffee,” situations while traveling abroad and I didn’t really experience any side effects from caffeine withdrawl. I can also drink a cup of coffee before going to bed and fall asleep just fine. So for me, coffee has a much stronger psychological than physical effect on me.
If I were you and wanted to drink espressos after dinner and still get to sleep at a decent hour, I would start gradually and try to build up my tolerance. I wouldn’t disregard the psychological connection with caffeine either - if you think it’s going to keep you awake then it probably will. Then again, a cup of espresso has much more caffeine than a cup of coffee so start off slowly and see what happens.
Well… I once had a problem sleeping when I drank too much coffee, however now a few years after I usually drink about 10-14 cups a day and have no trouble sleeping.
Granted it’s some really bad (not decaf) coffee from the dispenser at work, but I’m assuming the caffeine effect shouldn’t be that much lower than plain old homebrewed coffee.
It’s proberly not too healthy but I figure it’s better than drinking soda
I’ve been drinking tea since oh, 1958, when my mother put it in my baby bottle, diluted with lots of milk. Hardly a day has gone by when I haven’t had some. And I drink a Coke or two now between when I get home and bedtime. I can honestly say that I have never been able to discern the stimulant effects of caffeine. I have no trouble sleeping. Now, with coffee, it may be different. I’ve known people who got all wired out on it. But I don’t like it, so I don’t have any experience with coffee.
YM, as always, MV.
I’ve been drinking obscene amounts of coffee for a long time, and I’ve pretty much built up a great tolerance for it. I’m to the point now that I have coffee before I go to bed, and have no problem falling asleep at all.
I consume at least a pot of coffee and 2-3 liters of vanilla coke daily. I have no problems sleeping. But if I don’t get up right away on the weekend mornings and get some caffeine in my system I suffer from headaches. No sleeping in for me.
Would you like a Pepsi with that post, Hal?
Damn, that’s a lot of soda.
I drink about 2-3 cups of coffee in the morning, and usually have a cup of tea in the afternoon. I can have another cup of tea around 7:00 or so and be able to sleep, but if I have it any later in the evening, I always have decaf just to make sure. No sense laying there, wasting a good caffeine buzz when you should be sleeping.
Caffeine is the means by which I claw my way up to the level of a socially acceptable human being in the morning. Grande of drip coffee with enough sugar to give Calvin serious competition, that’ll do ya right.
My apologies if this is construed as a “health lecture”, but IMO there is good news and bad news.
Good news: it’s certainly possible to get so acclimated to caffiene that you will have little problem going to sleep at night even if you imbibe at 5 pm. Not no problems at all, but relatively few problems.
The bad news is that it would take such prodigious amounts of caffiene to do so that you would need to take caffiene immediately upon waking up in the morning or you’d feel groggy and “off” until you do. And don’t think of trying to “sleep off” the tired feeling you will be waking up in the morning with: the grogginess is due to lack of caffiene, not lack of sleep. More sleep will just make you more tired and give you a headache to boot.
Morning: minimum of one can of Mountain Dew (Code Red, if possible, but Walmart brand [I know, evil…] plain stuff is about a buck cheaper per case) as I’m getting ready for class. If I’m really wiped, it’s a can of Doubleshot from the coffee shop.
Lunch: either more Dew, diet Pepsi, or if I’m really tired, a cup or two of coffee.
Afternoon snack: Cup of tea (if I’m just looking for a beverage, not energy) or more Dew.
Dinner: Same as lunch.
Post-dinner homework: Whatever is available wherever I am - coffee, Dew, Frappacino, Red Bull, etc - varies by who’s room I’m studying in.
It’s an expensive as hell habit (possibly moreso than smoking if you don’t have a coffeemaker). You don’t want to see me if I miss more than one ‘dose’.
Anyway, what I meant to add was: I got my caffiene consumption down to bare minimum over the summer. Then when I started school again, it spiked up. I could barely sleep some nights, but I was awake to get my work done and in class, which is what matters.
Tough it out. It’s worth it. Eventually, you build up a tolerance to it.
