Your morning coffee habit could be making you feel more tired, warns doctor

19 November 2023 , 08:30

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A sleep expert has shared how much caffeine could be ruining your sleep pattern (Image: Getty Images)

Waking up and feeling groggy can be a bad way to start your day, when all you want to do is roll over and snooze your alarm, most people will reach for a cup of coffee to try and wake themselves up instead.

However, did you know your caffeine habit could actually have the opposite effect on you and make you feel more tired than alert and awake? American Dr and TV host Dr Oz spoke to sleep expert Dr Carol Ash who warned about the true effects of caffeine, and how to combat the need for more than recommended.

"We're a sleep-deprived nation," Dr Ash explained on the show and shared that most people are consuming coffee just to stay awake, and shared how there are "three ways" coffee can cause tiredness. She further added: "There are three ways caffeine [the substance in coffee] can cause fatigue. Caffeine binds adenosine receptors in the brain. Adenosine is a neurochemical in the brain that causes fatigue."

The adenosine chemical controls the restorative sleep we have each night, and creates a "pressure" to sleep, so when it is mixed with caffeine, it will create that initial alertness feeling - but it won't stop the production or the build-up of the adenosine chemical.

As it ultimately masks the tired feeling, and doesn't stop the creation of the neurochemical, once the caffeine wears off, you're left with a build-up of adenosine and will feel that all too familiar "crash" feeling in your post-caffeine hit. Caffeine also stays in the body for six hours, so drinking it after 3pm can cause sleep disruption which will further cause a feeling of fatigue.

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Dr Carol also urged people should get between eight to nine hours of sleep each night, so instead of relying on caffeine to keep you up, she recommends a good night's sleep instead - and also limiting the amount of caffeine consumed.

"You never want to drink more than 400mg of caffeine in one day." There's no denying caffeine is a highly addictive substance, and Dr Carol further encouraged people to limit their cups to one or two a day to help prevent the urge to need more and more caffeine each day to get the same effects.

Niamh Kirk