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Less Coffee, Better Sleep

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Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep

#31

Post by kitbrennan »

One of the unexpected impacts I experienced when going to zero cups per-day was that I suddenly started dreaming more often and more vividly. It was like how I remember sleep as a child, with nights full of weird and wonderful dreams, rather than only remembering one or two dreams a week as an adult.

I only had this effect when going completely zero caffeine, not when I cut down to one cup a day.

Unfortunately coffee is a vicious cycle, where I end up picking the habit back up on work trips. Before I know it I'm drinking a cup of coffee while writing a reply on HN about how great it was when I gave it up.

Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep

#32

Post by mostlyk »

I want to get better sleep but can not maintain a proper schedule due to university, 2 days a week it's waking up at 8 AM and otherwise 10 AM/11 AM.

I usually have coffee at Morning and a light coffee at 5 PM, it generally helps to do more work because I feel like I want to sit and work. Otherwise I'd dopamine max or play a sport.

Any tips on improving sleep? (It's simply not possible to follow a strict schedule due to multiple deadlines of so many things)

Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep

#33

Post by geokon »

foft wrote: post #11

Cutting coffee to just the morning definitely helped me. My problem now is that if I think of anything vaguely interesting in the evening then my brain refuses to stop thinking about it. That and restless legs. Evening if my main time for hobby projects so having them lead to disrupted sleep is really annoying. Any tips?

I don't have any severe sleep problems, but I can relate to this issue. I find reading fiction helps. It's kind of difficult to dream about an interesting problem or a project, so the way I perceive the problem is that my brain doesn't slip into a narrative free-associative state. But if I can get myself to think about something "dreamable" then it's a different story. A book works b/c you already need to engage your imagination quite a bit as you read anyway

Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep

#34

Post by steve1977 »

mostlyk wrote: post #32

I want to get better sleep but can not maintain a proper schedule due to university, 2 days a week it's waking up at 8 AM and otherwise 10 AM/11 AM. I usually have coffee at Morning and a light coffee at 5 PM, it generally helps to do more work because I feel like I want to sit and work. Otherwise I'd dopamine max or play a sport. Any tips on improving sleep? (It's simply not possible to follow a strict schedule due…

Why does it have to be 10 AM otherwise? (i.e. why can't it be 8 AM every day?)

I also get up at 6 AM every day because I have to on some days.

Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep

#35

Post by satvikpendem »

mostlyk wrote: post #32

I want to get better sleep but can not maintain a proper schedule due to university, 2 days a week it's waking up at 8 AM and otherwise 10 AM/11 AM. I usually have coffee at Morning and a light coffee at 5 PM, it generally helps to do more work because I feel like I want to sit and work. Otherwise I'd dopamine max or play a sport. Any tips on improving sleep? (It's simply not possible to follow a strict schedule due…

Wake up at the same time every day.

Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep

#36

Post by ShinyLeftPad »

nomorewords wrote: post #29
mittermayr wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dried up air (I love A/C regardless).

Does it dry up that much? I have an ikea smart thermometer that's in the flow of the AC and I haven't seen humidity drop below 40% even in summer

To some people below 60% is too dry

Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep

#37

Post by fredski42 »

chedabob wrote: post #18
foft wrote: post #11

Cutting coffee to just the morning definitely helped me. My problem now is that if I think of anything vaguely interesting in the evening then my brain refuses to stop thinking about it. That and restless legs. Evening if my main time for hobby projects so having them lead to disrupted sleep is really annoying. Any tips?

I always aim to stop doing anything with high cognitive load at least half an hour before getting ready for bed. Not necessarily no screen time, but coding stops, and the remaining time is spent gaming or watching TV, or I go to bed early and read.

Reading a dead tree book or using an ereader? I read before sleeping on my iPhone. I just bought an ereader to hopefully avoid this and sleep better.

Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep

#38

Post by satvikpendem »

I started drinking decaf black instead of coffee for the past several years now, that seems to help the psychological ritual of drinking coffee in the morning to wake you up but not actually have (or have very small amounts of) caffeine.

Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep

#39

Post by ShinyLeftPad »

CapsAdmin wrote: post #28

Whenever I stop drinking coffee for a few days or even months, I find that it becomes harder to wake up. I seem to sleep a lot heavier, but in the morning it's difficult to open my eyes as they feel heavy. It doesn't matter if I have 1 cup in the morning or drink coffee all day. As long as I have it in my system from the previous day, it's very easy to wake up the next day.

Could be catching up on long term sleep deficiency

Re: Less Coffee, Better Sleep

#40

Post by nchmy »

I'm sure it's different for everyone, but I can only tolerate a tiny amount of coffee now. Like brewing 6-10 grams of beans, once per morning. But even then, after a month or so, it definitely results in generally low energy, worse sleep etc... And I really don't like how it's the first thing that I MUST do when I wake up.

I ultimately have to detox, which I find takes few weeks. And then I'll feel great for a few months "sober".

But I really do love cofeee - I even roast it myself in small batches. So, I inevitably end up drinking it again and the cycle continues.

Life is definitely better without it.

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