Notes on Caffeine and Staying Awake

Realising how much work one may have in a 24 hour cycle might be quite overwhelming. The next best thing most of us turn to is some caffeine to keep us awake in an effort to get more work done. The request I received on Instagram was that I should recommend better ways than caffeine to increase wakefulness at night, and I presume, during the day as well. However, I think it is quite important that I am as honest with you as possible. I generally do not recommend that anybody burns the midnight oil to get more work done. Although, I am quite aware that there are many days that place this demand on you. If you find yourself having too many of those days, I think it is important to take a few steps back and ask yourself if you are working smart enough. If you can find more efficient ways to get more work done, this would be the best thing for you.

The toughest pill you may have to swallow from reading this article is this: once you get into the habit of burning the midnight oil, you will get into a cycle of never ending exhaustion and sleepiness. Furthermore, you may be knocking on the doors of burnout. Coffee, our assumed aid, actually may give you a sense of alertness but will be detrimental to your mental alertness and productivity as an individual. If you are sleepy after a long day at school or work, my advice to you is to step away from the coffee or any other thing you may be taking to keep you awake, and sleep.

Staying Awake with Caffeine

A few months ago, I wrote an article on energy drinks and it covers quite a bit on caffeine as well. I recommend that you read it here.

However, I would like to shed some more light on why caffeine is said to keep us awake. Caffeine actually keeps you awake by causing a feeling of anxiety and jitteriness which feels like a wake-up call to the body. It does this through various processes involving the nervous system. However, as far as mental alertness and productivity goes, it has been shown in various studies that actually it causes a decline in both. Additionally, it causes an increase in daytime sleepiness. Interestingly, because of the feeling of daytime sleepiness, most people would rush to the nearest coffee shop to keep themselves awake for the day, and the way I see it, you find yourself in a continuous cycle of reaching out for the next cup of coffee or can of energy drink. This, I find to be extremely counterproductive, and I would advise a better and more sustainable lifestyle.

Interestingly, like many drugs, caffeine causes tolerance. This means that after a period of habitual consumption, the effects are not felt as much as before. The result is an increase in consumption of caffeine to achieve the same results. Furthermore, like many substances of abuse, many medium to high users of caffeine experience withdrawal when they decide to stop consuming caffeine. This manifests in the form of daytime sleepiness, decreased mental alertness and ability to perform cognitive tasks.

Taking all these into consideration, I still do not believe caffeine is the worst thing in the world. I think it requires some self-regulation in consumption. I think it should be consumed to be enjoyed and not for over indulgence and night time wakefulness.

So, what other factors affect “sleepiness”?

Lighting: The kind of lighting you use at night affects whether you will sleep or sleep well. It has been shown that light containing blue light is detrimental to sleep and yellow light or dim light is better for sleep. So before you go to bed, ensure that either your lights are off or dim, or you are not using light that contains blue light. Why are many study lamps not yellow or dim?
The timing of your last cup of coffee: Caffeine should be taken at least 6 hours before you go to bed. It is safe to say that if you consume any caffeine any time after this, you will be either awake enough to do some work or your quality of sleep would be reduced.
Your Diet: It has also been shown that a high protein diet is better for alertness and even daytime wakefulness. This is something to look into when you make breakfast. Is your breakfast loaded with carbohydrates? Or is it loaded with protein?
Even with all these tips, there is nothing out there that can keep you awake enough to be productive like adequate good quality sleep. My advice to you is to ensure you get the right amount of sleep to be more efficient during the day. You will not regret it.

For more information on the importance of sleep, read my sleep article here.

References

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