How Does Caffeine Affect Your Sleep?

Posted on - 15th September 2022

You should do everything in your power to get the best night sleep possible. One of the biggest hindrances to sleep is caffeine, but how does it affect your sleep.

By now, you have probably heard of the negative side effects regarding not getting your recommended 8 hours of sleep a night. Not getting your much needed shut-eye can have serious long term consequences. As such, you should do everything you can to ensure you get your recommended sleep. Without a doubt, one of the biggest hindrances to most people’s sleeping patterns is caffeine. 

It is often estimated that over 1 billion people worldwide drink coffee on a daily basis and it is often cited that over 80% of UK households have some form of caffeinated beverage readily available. On paper, caffeine sounds great. If you are feeling a little tired or struggling to wake up, you can simply have a caffeinated beverage and you will feel awake and alert. However, people sometimes forget about the potential negative side effects of caffeine, especially regarding the impact it has on your sleep. 

At Dial-a-Mattress, we are a proud supplier of bed frames and mattresses from Telford, and we pride ourselves on helping you get the best quality of sleep possible. Because of this, we thought it might be beneficial to help you establish how caffeine can affect your sleep. 

Knowing The Side Effects

As previously mentioned, caffeine might provide you with an initial burst of energy and alertness. But when this wears off, there can be negative side effects. 

Consuming caffeine can make it harder for you to fall asleep. While many people might know this, it is not as commonly known that caffeine can also affect the amount of deep sleep you get on any given night. Deep sleep is very important as this period of sleep maximises rest and recuperation. It is harder to get deeper sleep when drinking caffeine because it takes your body quite a while to digest and process caffeine effectively, this results in sleep not being as all encompassing. 

High consumptions of caffeine can manifest in physical side effects. Physical side effects can include, but are not limited: nausea, muscle tremors, sweating as well as increased heart rate and breathing. Not only can these side effects seriously affect your sleep, they can cause you a great deal of discomfort in your everyday life.

Recommended Consumption 

Caffeine consumption in moderation might not bear a lot of the previously mentioned gnarly side effects. Many experts have advised that you should not exceed 4-5 cups of coffee a day. If you do not drink coffee as your primary source of caffeine, it is recommended to not exceed 400 milligrams of caffeine a day. So, whether you drink certain caffeinated soft drinks or other caffeine based drinks such as tea, this is the amount you should not exceed.  

Drinking this amount of caffeine or less has been found not to have an impact on your general wellbeing and quality of life. This being said, some experts advise trying to drink less than this recommended maximium consumption. Consuming amounts such as 400 milligrams has been found to still have some negative consequences. 

What Happens Once You Stop? 

So you might have decided to limit, or stop altogether, your daily caffeine intake in order to help improve your quality of sleep. Your next logical question might be; how long after quitting caffeine does it take to feel the benefits regarding your sleep? 

After quitting caffeine, you should not expect to feel the benefits straight away. Initially you might exhibit certain side effects. The side effects can include headaches, sleepiness, tiredness, muscle aches, trouble concentrating and mood swings. It is typically expected for these symptoms to last anywhere from 2 to 9 days. 

After this time, you should be able to expect the associated benefits of quitting caffeine and subsequently enjoy a better quality of prolonged sleep. 

Trusted Bed Supplier

At Dial-a-Mattress, we pride ourselves on helping you get the best night sleep possible. We hope that this blog on the potential negative consequences of consuming too much caffeine has been beneficial to you. 

We also pride ourselves on offering a wide range of high quality, comfy mattresses and bed frames in Telford and surrounding areas. So, if you are looking for ways to improve your sleep quality, please contact us today.