Sleep Practitioner, Researcher, and author Lucy Wolfe noticed changes to her sleep when she cut caffeine.

A sleep practitioner told The Hard Shoulder that cutting out caffeine from her diet considerably improved the quality of her sleep. 

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that people who drank one or more cups of coffee each day lose, on average, 36 minutes of sleep compared with those who don't over a two-week period. 

Sleep practitioner, researcher, author Lucy Wolfe told The Hard Shoulder that this wasn’t a shock. 

“That particular study just did show that those who were the caffeine drinkers, coffee in were more active”, she said. 

“We do know that caffeine has benefits, you know, sharper focus and enhanced mental well-being and, you know, associated with longevity as well.

“The same could be said for sleep. Good quality of sleep and good amount of sleep have the same impact.”

She explained that it was best to drink two cups a day and end daily consumption early in the day to avoid sleep being impacted. 

A sleepy woman sitting at a desk, 20-9-19. Image: Aleksandr Davydov / Alamy

During her own caffeine regulation journey Ms Wolfe noticed that her sleep improved. 

“I slowly uncoupled, as you say over the course of about a month. What I noticed afterwards was two interesting things. Firstly, my sleep did improve. So I felt like my sleep was deeper, more restful.

“More interestingly, in that first month, I was falling asleep everywhere. Any time I sat down, any time I went on a journey in a car, someone else drove a train into the cinema, I was just falling asleep.

“I was interested in how the caffeine was acting as such a mask of my own tiredness.”

She added that the recommended amount for daily coffee consumption is 400 mg a day.

A barista pours milk into a latte, Alamy

“Just be mindful that your over-the-counter coffee is generally a much higher amount than, let's say, that you're making in your own kitchen.

“Your caffeine intake is going to be really individual to you. 

“The way you metabolise it indicates whether you are going to be impacted by it or your sleep is going to be impacted by it. So it's a certain gene type, apparently.”

Main Image: A barista prepares a coffee. Picture by: Alamy.