If you metabolize caffeine slowly, it might not make you feel alert as quickly as it does for other people. Not everyone metabolizes caffeine at the same rate. Once the effects of the coffee wear off, the resulting surge can cause sleepiness and muscle fatigue. However, research suggests that the body compensates for this effect by increasing sensitivity to adenosine. Coffee promotes alertness and reduces tiredness by blocking adenosine receptors and preventing the chemical from exerting its sleep-promoting effects. Released in larger quantities when we are sleep-deprived, adenosine is a key chemical that helps bring on sleepiness. If you believe you have diabetes or other blood sugar problems, make an appointment with your doctor. In the hours after consuming sugar, blood sugar levels peak and then dip, and this falling blood sugar may affect your energy levels. Most common in people with diabetes or prediabetes, high blood sugar levels are associated with increased feelings of fatigue, particularly in women.Įven if your blood sugar does not reach clinically high levels, you might feel increased tiredness due to low blood sugar after your blood sugar levels decrease. This makes you more sensitive to sugar or carbohydrates found in your drink or breakfast, and it can cause a temporary surge in blood sugar. Blood Sugar Changesĭrinking coffee in the morning may contribute to insulin resistance and negatively impact your body’s ability to tolerate glucose. Mild dehydration can also decrease cognitive performance, impair memory, and increase anxiety and tension.Ĭoffee may be more likely to affect hydration for people who are not regular coffee drinkers, and it may have little to no effect until a certain level of caffeine is reached. Additionally, mild dehydration itself can cause you to experience fatigue. If these bathroom trips wake you up throughout the night, you might feel more tired the next day. DehydrationĬoffee is considered a diuretic, which means it can increase your need to urinate and lead to fluid loss. Caffeine withdrawal is marked by headaches, decreased alertness, and feelings of tiredness.
As a result, consuming the same amount of caffeine will not produce the same positive effects over time, and consuming more coffee to try to recuperate its positive effects could have negative effects for your sleep.Īdditionally, regular caffeine use over just three days is enough to spark withdrawal symptoms when you stop consuming it. However, similar to the way people can develop a tolerance for alcohol, those who consume caffeine regularly develop a tolerance to it. Initially, consuming caffeine can improve your mood and reaction times, as well as your physical performance. Rather than making you tired, it is possible that coffee simply is not making you as alert as it once did. Because you feel more tired, you drink more coffee, but that coffee disrupts your sleep, leading to more tiredness in the long run. As a result, turning to coffee to fix the effects of sleep deprivation can create a negative cycle. Ingesting too much caffeine can negatively impact sleep, making you sleepy the next day.
Sleep deprivation can reduce alertness, slow down response times, and negatively affect thinking.ĭrinking more coffee in an effort to overcome tiredness might backfire. Although coffee can provide a quick pick-me-up, it is not an adequate substitute for sleep. More than one-third of Americans are sleep-deprived and not receiving the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep per night. Sleep deprivation, caffeine tolerance, dehydration, adenosine levels, blood sugar changes, or individual differences in caffeine metabolism may cause you to feel tired after drinking coffee. We discuss the potential reasons coffee might seem to make you feel sleepy rather than alert, as well as what you can do to counteract these effects. As a result, many people use coffee as part of their morning routines to help them feel awake and ready for the day.Įven though coffee is a stimulant, some people find drinking it does not give them the outcome they desire. Coffee contains caffeine and other compounds that, together, increase alertness and improve mood.
An estimated 75% of American adults drink coffee, and nearly 50% do so on a daily basis.
Coffee drinking is widespread, especially in the United States.