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50 Union Avenue, Suite 501 Irvington, NJ 07111 table of contents here’s what’s inside
Medication or Management PAGE 1
Getting Things Done® Are You Guilty of These Awful Online Marketing Tactics? PAGE 2 What Every Doctor Needs to Know Before Filling Out Their Next Prescription Book Review: ‘Five Keys to Powerful Business Relationships’ PAGE 3
Caffeine and Sleep PAGE 4
Caffeine and Sleep Is Caffeine Stealing Your Sleep?
Sleep is essential, and one-third of us aren’t getting enough. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep per night. While sleep may be influenced by sleep disorders and side effects from medications, that afternoon cup of coffee or tea may be to blame for your sleeping struggles. Why is sleep important? Every night, the body repairs and rejuvenates itself during sleep. Getting enough sleep positively affects your mental and physical health, while not getting enough can be detrimental. Lack of sleep is linked to obesity, mental illness, high blood pressure, and stress. Sleep is also fundamental for retaining information, because the brain forms new pathways during sleep. How caffeine hinders sleep Caffeine hinders sleep by blocking adenosine receptors in the brain. Adenosine is responsible for telling your brain that your body needs rest. Caffeine fits perfectly in your adenosine receptors, taking adenosine’s place and leaving it with nowhere to go. This means if caffeine is consumed too close to bedtime, your body’s circadian rhythm may be thrown off. Researchers from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the U.K. found that when study participants were given 200 mg of
caffeine 3 hours before bed, the caffeine delayed their circadian sleep pattern by 40 minutes. And participants who were given caffeine and then exposed to bright lights had their sleep cycle delayed by 105 minutes!
Keep caffeine from stealing your sleep Fortunately, there are ways you can drink the caffeinated beverages you love and still get the shut-eye you need. First, avoid caffeine during the afternoon. If you normally go to bed around 10 p.m., it’s recommended that you avoid caffeine after noon. Because caffeine has a half-life of 5.7 hours, if you drink 200 mg of caffeine at noon, you’ll still have 50 mg of caffeine in your system at bedtime. Second, know your body. Most people have a limit of 300–400 mg of caffeine per day, which is the equivalent of one large cup of coffee at Starbucks or three to four 8-ounce cups of coffee. Third, don’t drink coffee when you first wake up. While many run for their coffee immediately after waking up, caffeine works best when consumed 1–2 hours after waking.
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