I've had exactly the same coffee drinking habit for decades: about 22-23 oz first thing before breakfast and that's it. Once in a very rare while (on the scale of a few times a year) I'll have a masala chai or matcha in the evening. My sleep pattern has changed despite this consistency and I believe it's more due to age rather than coffee consumption.
Less Coffee, Better Sleep
71–79 of 79 posts
Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep
#72I’ve always struggled with sleep. A few things that helped me (in order of importance) - go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Getting up is more important than going to bed. - no phone in bed, and limit stimulating activities (intense video games, programming, planning the vacation etc) to 90 minutes before bed. I read during that time but TV, cleaning, music, whatever works. - a bad nights sleep will hap…
A 30-60min walk around the block before bed does wonders too
For me it's the opposite, if I do any kind of exercise before sleeping, whether it's lifting weights, doing cardio or slow walks, I'll be awake for hours due to energy. My muscles will ache but my mind remains sharp and energetic.
I reserve an hour of "downturn" before bed, which includes a checks list:
* Slow activities like reading a paper book,or watching a movie
* Turning off electronics / putting them on DND
* Dimming the lights
* Shutting the blinds
* This hour can also be reserved for prayers (if you are religious) or meditation / reflections, etc. These help getting out lingering thoughts out of your head
I also have Flux / Night Shift installed on all my devices which forces me to take a break from the screens.
Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep
#73I’ve always struggled with sleep. A few things that helped me (in order of importance) - go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Getting up is more important than going to bed. - no phone in bed, and limit stimulating activities (intense video games, programming, planning the vacation etc) to 90 minutes before bed. I read during that time but TV, cleaning, music, whatever works. - a bad nights sleep will hap…
- a bad nights sleep will happen, often a few nights in a row. Be ok with that (easier said than done, I did CBT for this). Instead of lying in bed restless get up and watch TV, or read. This is the hardest one for me. I'm currently working on about 20 minutes of sleep and I know tonight will probably be the same. I'll lie in bed knowing I should get up and do something to shake the cobwebs out but I'm stuck in a pur…
Have you tried putting on an audiobook and just settling in to enjoy it as long as you're awake?
I concur with a lot of the original advice. I still wake up a lot during the night, but I can fall asleep again by starting my audiobook again. My brain needs to focus on just that one thing, otherwise everything else spins around.
- Exercise, exercise, exercise! I am quite willing to bet that a lot of people with sleep issues don't really exercise properly. Exhaust yourself here.
- Develop a good sleep habit, same time each night.
- Magnesium and melatonin while trying to get the sleep habit started.
- Audiobooks. Not podcasts. An actual story, like someone is reading you to sleep when you were young (if you sleep next to someone, you might need particular band headphones, or lower the volume and put a slim tablet under your pillow).
Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep
#74I’ve always struggled with sleep. A few things that helped me (in order of importance) - go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Getting up is more important than going to bed. - no phone in bed, and limit stimulating activities (intense video games, programming, planning the vacation etc) to 90 minutes before bed. I read during that time but TV, cleaning, music, whatever works. - a bad nights sleep will hap…
- a bad nights sleep will happen, often a few nights in a row. Be ok with that (easier said than done, I did CBT for this). Instead of lying in bed restless get up and watch TV, or read. This is the hardest one for me. I'm currently working on about 20 minutes of sleep and I know tonight will probably be the same. I'll lie in bed knowing I should get up and do something to shake the cobwebs out but I'm stuck in a pur…
I did a CBT course on it, the steps were very roughly to stay up until I got tired and then get up at my target time. IIRC that was stay up till 4 and get up at 7:30. That pretty quickly made me realise that I was _definitely_ getting way more sleep than I thought I was. Between “normal” bed time and my bed time, the bedroom rules apply - no stimulating activities etc. I took up reading, but watching light series would be another good one. You don’t go to bed until you’re actually tired - that is “I’m pretty sure I’ve actually fallen asleep on the couch” tired. Then, move it back 30 minutes a week.
Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep
#75>Normally I’d drink 4, sometimes 5 large cups of coffee throughout the day (I say cups but it’s literal tea mugs), and it wasn’t until the third I really could get going. Didn’t feel jittery or anything like that, mostly different shades of tired.
This behavioral pattern describes a nontrivial caffeine dependence, not the effects of standard daily coffee consumption.
Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
A 30-60min walk around the block before bed does wonders too
For me it's the opposite, if I do any kind of exercise before sleeping, whether it's lifting weights, doing cardio or slow walks, I'll be awake for hours due to energy. My muscles will ache but my mind remains sharp and energetic. I reserve an hour of "downturn" before bed, which includes a checks list: * Slow activities like reading a paper book,or watching a movie * Turning off electronics / putting them on DND * D…
I found that reflection/meditation before bed didn’t work for me. I do my reflection/journalling as part of my “stimulating” activities so that my mind has an hour or so to process what I’ve been doing.
Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
- a bad nights sleep will happen, often a few nights in a row. Be ok with that (easier said than done, I did CBT for this). Instead of lying in bed restless get up and watch TV, or read. This is the hardest one for me. I'm currently working on about 20 minutes of sleep and I know tonight will probably be the same. I'll lie in bed knowing I should get up and do something to shake the cobwebs out but I'm stuck in a pur…
Have you tried putting on an audiobook and just settling in to enjoy it as long as you're awake? I concur with a lot of the original advice. I still wake up a lot during the night, but I can fall asleep again by starting my audiobook again. My brain needs to focus on just that one thing, otherwise everything else spins around. - Exercise, exercise, exercise! I am quite willing to bet that a lot of people with sleep i…
- Exercise, exercise, exercise! I am quite willing to bet that a lot of people with sleep issues don't really exercise properly. Exhaust yourself here.
- Magnesium and melatonin while trying to get the sleep habit started.
- Audiobooks. Not podcasts. An actual story, like someone is reading you to sleep when you were young (if you sleep next to someone, you might need particular band headphones, or lower the volume and put a slim tablet under your pillow).
Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
- a bad nights sleep will happen, often a few nights in a row. Be ok with that (easier said than done, I did CBT for this). Instead of lying in bed restless get up and watch TV, or read. This is the hardest one for me. I'm currently working on about 20 minutes of sleep and I know tonight will probably be the same. I'll lie in bed knowing I should get up and do something to shake the cobwebs out but I'm stuck in a pur…
I did a CBT course on it, the steps were very roughly to stay up until I got tired and then get up at my target time. IIRC that was stay up till 4 and get up at 7:30. That pretty quickly made me realise that I was _definitely_ getting way more sleep than I thought I was. Between “normal” bed time and my bed time, the bedroom rules apply - no stimulating activities etc. I took up reading, but watching light series wou…
This is great advice. I'm going to start doing it tonight. Thanks!
Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep
#79I started tracking my sleep quality (measured by a smart watch) and caffeine consumption a few months ago. Turns out caffeine didn't make much of a difference for me. Other things that correlated much better with good sleep were avoiding alcohol, exercising and cold showers and reading before going to bed.
As the saying goes, measure first, optimize later.