Take a guess:

What is the most used drug in the world?

I'll give you a hint.

It's used by ~94% of Americans daily.

And, about 90% of adults world wide use it daily.

If I was a betting man, I'd go all-in that you had some this morning.

That drug is caffeine.

Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world.

But to what extent can it impact your sleep?

According to Dr. Matt Walker, if you consume 1-2 cups of caffeine in the evening, it can reduce deep sleep by 15-20%.

This is equivalent to the sleep you may get if I aged you by 20-22 years.

20-22 years?! :(

Yeah, I know.

So, let's dive in, and make sure that doesn't happen.

Table of Contents

1. When Is Caffeine Bad?

2. The Ideal Way to Drink Caffeine

3. Summary

When Is Caffeine Bad?

Caffeine has about a 6-hour half-life.

That means, if you drink 100mg of caffeine 6 hours before bed, it's the same as drinking 50mg of caffeine right before you fall asleep.

Take that a step further.

If you drink 100 mg of caffeine 12 hours before bed, that's like drinking a quarter cup of coffee just before putting your eye mask on to dose off for the night.

While that may sound a bit extreme, it's true.

Unfortunately, no matter which way you cut it, if you drink coffee during the day, it will affect your sleep.

So, what are you telling me here, Ben?

Should I just stop drinking coffee entirely?

No, that's not what I'm saying.

The point here is: no matter when or how much caffeine you drink, there will be a trade-off with your sleep.

And, importantly, the more you drink and the later you drink it, the worse your sleep will be.

So, what's a good way to drink caffeine?

The Ideal Way to Drink Caffeine

Here's an ideal caffeine drinking scenario:

You wake up and refrain from making your morning cup of caffeine until about 90-120 minutes after waking.

This causes the afternoon crash to get pushed back until around dinner time, decreasing the temptation to have more caffeine in the afternoon/evening.

If the temptation arises in the afternoon/evening to have another cup or two, switch to decaf coffee or a non-caffeinated version of your favorite beverage.

This can help dampen the urge without sacrificing your night of sleep.

Summary

If you drink 100mg+ of caffeine in the late afternoon/evening, your deep sleep can decrease by 15-20%.

This is the same sleep you would get if I aged you by 20-22 years.

Additionally, caffeine has about a 6 hour half-life.

So, drinking 100mg of caffeine 12 hours before bed is the same as drinking a quarter cup of coffee right before you head off to sleep.

But, caffeine can be drank in a healthy manner by waiting ~2 hours after you wake up to drink your caffeine.

This will push back the afternoon crash until around dinner time, which is when most people start to get tired anyway.

This should decrease your temptation to have late afternoon/evening caffeine.

If the temptation does arise, quench the urge with a decaffeinated cup of coffee/beverage.

Action Items

1) Wait 90-120 minutes after waking to have your first dose of caffeine.

If this wait is a struggle, try getting sunlight in your eyes in the time before having caffeine. This can act as a natural substitute for caffeine.

2) If a caffeine urge arises in the afternoon/evening, have a decaffeinated cup of coffee/beverage.