A good night’s sleep is vital to both our physical and mental health. But there’s a variety of things that can lead to a bad night, including when you drink your last coffee.
It is thought that Brits drink around 98 million cups of coffee a day, with around 42 percent of people admitting they have around two or three cups. But an NHS doctor has now urged people not to have a coffee after a certain time in order to get a good sleep.
Dr Rupy Aujla, who runs The Doctor’s Kitchen, says you shouldn’t have a coffee after 12pm. He says you should instead consider a caffeine free drink such as chamomile tea.
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Rupy however warns shoppers they ought to check their teas for caffeine before buying them. The NHS also advises cutting out stimulants such as coffee before bed.
Speaking on Channel 4’s How to Sleep Better, he said: “Herbal teas, things like chamomile, valerian root, liquorice, they might be related to an improvement in sleep but I think it’s more the habit.
“When you go to sleep, you essentially need to give your body a signal, a reminder that, ‘Oh this is sleepy time, this is when I have my chamomile tea’, that might actually help.”
Rupy also had a word of caution for anyone who drinks green tea before bed. He added: “A lot of people think it has a calming effect but green tea has a lot of caffeine in. I would keep caffeinated beverages before 12pm.
“Caffeine has a half life of anywhere between six to eight hours, so if I have a double espresso at 12pm, I still have an espresso in my system as late as 8pm.”
The NHS says that the effects of caffeine can last in your system for up to seven hours. It states: “Caffeine is a stimulant which means it makes you feel more awake. But it can also disrupt your usual sleep rhythms, leading to problems sleeping and then daytime tiredness.”
As well as coffee, the health service suggests avoiding tea, energy drinks, fizzy drinks and some herbal remedies before going to bed. It however advises against cutting out caffeine too quickly to avoid getting headaches.
It says that cutting out caffeine too fast can even lead to a worse sleep. Instead anyone wanting to remove caffeine from their diet should do so gradually.
Elsewhere Rupy had advice for anyone who likes to have a glass of wine before bed. He said: “Red wine 100 percent, or any alcohol, will help you get to sleep quicker.
“The quality of your sleep however is going to be massively impacted. You’re basically trading off good quality sleep for getting to sleep better.”
He instead suggests eating carbohydrate-rich food such as sweet potato and parsnips as part of your evening meal. This however he says should be eaten between three and four hours before bed.
