You, like a large portion of the rest of the country, might benefit from more sleep. Better Sleep, Better You, co-authored by functional medicine pioneer Frank Lipman, MD, and Neil Parikh, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Casper, isn't an assumption; it's an educated statement based on research presented in a new book, Better Sleep, Better You.
According to them, the goal of their collaboration was to "create a book that will finally get people in bed to receive the rest they need." And it's evident that we require assistance:
- Forty percent of Americans say they have occasional insomnia.
- Twenty-two percent say they have insomnia almost every night.
- Seventy percent say they don't get enough sleep.
Many factors contribute to our persistent sleep problems, including our reliance on sleep-disrupting technology, being overworked and undernourished, and more. Worst of all? Ignoring the notion that we're not getting enough sleep might have serious health effects.
Caffeine's Negative Effects on Sleep
Ironically, one of the ways we cope with sleeplessness is to consume caffeinated beverages, which contributes to our inability to sleep at night. Don't worry—you can let go of your death grasp on your coffee mug and instead follow Frank and Neil's suggestions for reducing (rather than ceasing) consumption:
We understand—you're sleepy, dizzy, and in need of a pick-me-up. What could be more appealing than coffee, one of the ideal stimulants ever devised by nature? It gives you a second (or third, or fourth) wind almost instantly, keeping your thinking sharper, and may help you burn more calories at the gym.
But what about when it comes to sleeping? It's a total downer. Caffeine is a stimulant, and it works by inhibiting the receptors in your brain that identify the sleep-inducing chemical adenosine. Adenosine builds up in your system as you accrue waking hours, causing sleep pressure or the desire to sleep.
Caffeine essentially prevents this from happening by convincing the brain that it is not fatigued. However, the more extended caffeine suppresses adenosine, the more it accumulates in your body. When the effects of caffeine wear off, all that earned adenosine rushes back into the brain, making you feel even more tired than you did before you drank that cup of coffee/black tea/energy drink. It isn't called crashing for no reason. Caffeine, even more than intense light, suppresses the production of melatonin.
As a result, you require caffeine to operate and wake up, which causes you to get sleepier, resulting in a need for more coffee—a phenomenon known as the "caffeine causality loop."
How to drink coffee and also obtain a good night's sleep?
You must interrupt the caffeine causality loop and reset the rhythm if you want to improve your sleep. The best approach is to be more conscious of how much caffeine you consume and when you drink it. Some pointers:
Have a caffeinated beverage. After 1 p.m., we recommend having your last caffeine hit. Caffeine has a half-life of about five to seven hours, which means that half of the caffeine in a cup of coffee is still in your body five to seven hours later. It could take even longer if you're a slow metabolizer (see below).
Reduce the amount of food you eat. In terms of how long it takes the body to break down all that caffeine, there's a difference between a 200-milligram 20-ounce latte and a 50-milligram shot of espresso. Switching to half-caf Americanos could be an excellent answer because you'll still feel like you're drinking coffee all day but with only 45 to 75 mg of caffeine each cup (because it's one shot of caffeine and one shot of decaf). Three to four half-caf Americanos per day would total roughly 150 milligrams, compared to 500 to 600 mg for full-strength. We recommend limiting your daily intake to 400 milligrams or fewer, which is about four 8-ounce cups of coffee. If you find out that you have a slow metabolism, you may try to lower that amount. You might also look for an alternative source, such as L-theanine, an amino acid that, when taken as a supplement or drank in green tea, can help you focus.
Keep an eye out for caffeine that has been disguised. Caffeine can be found in a variety of foods, including chocolate and some pharmaceuticals. These sources contribute to your daily total.
Be truthful to yourself. If you feel bad after drinking caffeine, it's probably because you're a slow metabolizer. Then think about why you're drinking it in the first place, significantly if it's impacting your sleep. You'll notice that as you stick to your sleep-improvement plan, you'll have less and less need for caffeine.
Understand the different types of caffeine metabolism.
New research into how humans process caffeine has discovered that there are two types of people: those who metabolize caffeine quickly (and can easily fall asleep with a shot of espresso before bed) and others who metabolize caffeine slowly (the ones who drink a cup of coffee in the morning and feel anxious and jittery all day). This is determined by which "caffeine gene" you possess.
- CYP1A2 is an enzyme that aids in the breakdown of caffeine and speeds up its metabolism
- CYP1A2 *1F is a mutation of CYP1A2 that has the exact opposite effect, slowing down caffeine metabolism.
Genome testing (such as that given by 23andMe, 34 Genetics, Genelex, and Gene Planet) can help you determine which camp you belong to. Still, you can also self-diagnose: After a few hours of coffee consumption, assess how you feel physically, cognitively, and emotionally. Slow metabolizers often feel drained afterwards (for up to nine hours! ), while their faster counterparts feel more energized and alert.
Why should you drink a "nappaccino"?
A nap can be an effective sleep aid for some people. A well-timed, well-executed nap has been demonstrated in studies to improve alertness, mood, and productivity. Here's a brilliant tip for ensuring you wake up feeling more alert:
"While we can't take credit for the smart moniker," Frank and Neil explain, "we can send along with this proposal, which has been circulating on the sleep circuit and is backed up by anecdotal evidence."
Before taking a nap, consume an 8-ounce cup of coffee. That way, you're not only avoiding the drowsy-inducing adenosine build-up that coffee causes, but you're also waking up 20 to 25 minutes later, right when the caffeine kicks in. In theory, you're getting a double dose of energy-boosting goodness.