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Is it Healthy to Drink Coffee at Night?
Many people enjoy sipping coffee after dinner as an enjoyable way to close out a satisfying meal and start conversations among family and friends. Coffee also cuts through the richness of certain foods and serves as an ideal complement for desserts; furthermore, it may help digestion in those suffering from IBS or Crohn’s disease; however for some it may keep them awake at night due to stimulants in coffee that stimulate them or restless leg syndrome.
Some may be under the misconception that drinking coffee late at night will prevent them from sleeping soundly; this is simply untrue. Although caffeine consumption could interfere with restful restful slumber if consumed too close to bedtime, its impact depends on each individual and how sensitive their system is to it and how much caffeine was actually consumed; in addition, caffeine’s half-life is approximately three to five hours; within this timeframe half will have already left your system.
Coffee should also be considered when trying to sleep due to its potential to worsen symptoms, including heart palpitations, nausea, stomach upset and gastrointestinal distress, high blood pressure and anxiety. Therefore, it’s advisable that those suffering from sleep disorders avoid drinking coffee for best results.
Apart from any rare side effects, there are no serious health implications associated with drinking coffee in the evening. While coffee may provide you with a natural energy boost and help you wake up feeling more refreshed, it also contains essential vitamins and minerals which provide essential benefits to the body.
Trouble sleeping may be related to digestive discomfort rather than caffeine consumption, and before turning to coffee at night as a remedy it is worth exploring other possible solutions such as drinking more water and exercising to ease their GI tract, as these changes may help with sleeplessness.
Having trouble sleeping? It could be caused by outside factors, like stimuli from electronics or food and drink. To help yourself sleep soundly again, eliminate these stimuli and develop a good wind down routine to help ensure a peaceful slumber.
Some individuals struggle to fall asleep due to too much caffeine in their system. It is essential to remember that everyone’s sensitivity to caffeine and cortisol levels differ, so knowing your own limits for how much is too much for you. While it is fine to enjoy an occasional cup of coffee at night, it would be prudent to stick within recommended serving sizes for optimal sleeping quality and only consume coffee as part of recommended serving sizes throughout the day if possible to prevent caffeine from interfering with sleep.