Many, many years ago, when I
was in college, I learned a lesson about sleep the hard way. I had been up late
studying for a final exam and decided to take some No-Doz to help me
stay awake and push through. It worked, but by the time I finished the exam the
next day, I was exhausted. I remember thinking, “As soon as I get back to my
room, I’m going to bed and make up my sleep.”
Well… I learned something that day.
There is no such thing as making up sleep.
I crawled into bed completely worn
out, but instead of drifting off, I found myself wide awake — tossing, turning,
watching the clock on tick by. (This was long before cell phones.) I finally
figured out that I was not going to be able to go to sleep in the afternoon so
I got back up and waited until my regular bedtime. Nothing. Once again I tossed
and turned and stared in the dark, jealous because my roommate was sleeping
just fine. Every time I looked at the clock I became more anxious.
What is tomorrow going to look
like if I don’t get any sleep?
I stayed in bed because I didn’t
want to disturb my roommate, but sleep never came. The next two days were
miserable, and I promised myself I would never do that again. At the
time, I blamed it on the NoDoz. Later I realized something important about my
body: Just like my mom, I’m sensitive to caffeine.
Years later I would see the same
thing happen if I had coffee at an evening banquet or with dinner. My husband,
on the other hand, can drink a cup of coffee late in the evening and sleep just
fine.
That’s the thing about caffeine — people
respond very differently. And caffeine isn’t the only substance that can
interfere with sleep. Two of the most common sleep disruptors are alcohol
and caffeine.
Many people think alcohol helps
them sleep because it makes them feel relaxed and sleepy. And it’s true that
alcohol is a nervous system depressant, so it can help you fall asleep
faster. But what happens later in the night is the problem.
Alcohol can disrupt the second
half of your sleep, which is often why people wake up around 2 or 3 in the
morning and have trouble falling back asleep. It also tends to produce lighter,
poorer-quality sleep.
For people who have sleep apnea, alcohol can
make the condition worse by relaxing the throat muscles even more during sleep.
If you do drink alcohol, a helpful guideline is to have it three to four
hours before bedtime so your body has time to metabolize it. If you are
having trouble sleeping, you may have to reconsider that night cap.
Caffeine works in the opposite way.
It’s a stimulant, which is why many of us rely on it in the morning to
help us feel more alert. That morning cup of coffee or green tea gets us going
and takes the grogginess away. Something I learned recently is that caffeine
can stay in your system much longer than you might think — sometimes six to
eight hours or more, depending on your body.
Like my husband, there are
individuals that can drink coffee late in the evening and sleep just fine. Others,
like me, have to pay attention. I’ve learned that I can’t have caffeine after
about 12:00 noon if I want to sleep well. That includes coffee and tea.
And for me, energy drinks are not a part of my strategy ever.
While studying for my brain health
certification I recently learned something that really surprised me. Data
suggests that for midlife women who are on hormone replacement therapy,
caffeine may stay in the system longer, which can contribute to some of the
sleep challenges women experience during this season of life.
So if you’ve been
struggling with insomnia and you’re not sure what role caffeine might be
playing, here’s a simple experiment.
Eliminate caffeine completely for
one week and see how your sleep responds.
Sometimes the issue isn’t
discipline or stress. Sometimes it’s simply understanding how your body
processes what you put into it. And learning to listen to those signals is
part of aging gracefully.
Your brain and body are changing. But
with the right awareness, you can navigate this season gracefully. Sleep is one
of the clearest signals your brain gives you so it’s worth it to pay attention
to.
With you in this season,
Dr. Janice R. Love
Faith Centered Brain Health Coach
