Caffeine affects our sleep in that it increases the level of adrenaline, and blocks sleep-inducing chemicals that help us fall and stay asleep. Watch internist and sleep expert Carol Ash, DO, explain how caffeine can negatively affect our sleep.
Well, you use a lot of caffeine to keep us alert and awake and energized during the day, but unfortunately, that can have a really big impact on your sleep. What caffeine does is it typically will stop us from falling asleep at night, caffeine increases the level of adrenaline and blocks these sleep inducing chemicals so that you'll be jittery and you'll have difficulty with insomnia.
In addition to that caffeine can't stop you from keeping you'll sleep restful at night because caffeine can cause a headache, it can cause a racing heart, it can cause you to have to frequently get up at night to go to the bathroom those are all things that will disrupt your sleep.
So you want to really avoid the caffeine another important thing and we we're talking about caffeine and pain relievers. When you don't get enough sleep at night it actually increases the pain and it also increases your sensitivity to the pain so becomes a vicious circle. The less sleep you get, the more pain you will have and more sensitive.
Michael J. Breus, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He specializes in sleep disorders and is one of only 163 psychologists in the world with his credentials and distinction.
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