Discover why you need to kill the caffeine sleep monster to beat insomnia!
Today we’re gonna to blow your Caffeine Sleep problem to pieces! A bold claim…
When I was studying for my psychology degree me and my study group ran a simple, yet interesting experiment. We looked at how caffeine affects our minds and mental performance.
caffeine sleep
We split our research subjects into two groups, giving people in group one a caffeine tablet and the people in group two a placebo.
As you might expect the people in the caffeine group showed a significant increase in their alertness and cognitive performance.
So what does the caffeine sleep link have to do with you wanting to get better sleep now?
Well Remember: “the caffeine group showed a significant increase in their alertness and cognitive performance”
This means that they felt more awake and their minds were far more active. So anyone sturggling to sleep needs to pay attention to the caffiene sleep link!
Now I don’t know about you, but for most of my clients having a mind that is awake and buzzing away with thoughts, worries and questions is a big problem.
In fact it is one of the biggest challenges they have when working out how to beat insomnia.
And it is often the case that caffeine is the hidden cause of this sleep monster.
In fact the effects of the caffeine sleep link have been long proven.
What does caffeine do to us to affect our sleep?
Two things really…
1). Caffeine stimulates our nervous system, making us more alert and keeping our mind and body awake and full of energy.
2). Caffeine also has a dehydrating affect on us. And guess what? Yep, dehydration can ruin your sleep.
So if you consume a lot of caffeine expect to be led in bed with a busy, buzzing mind and feeling restless. It will ruin your chance to get better sleep.
This is the caffeine sleep cycle!
Simple.
Although not that simple…
What most people don’t realise is that the effects of caffeine last between 4 and 5 hours.
If you enjoy a nice cup of coffee at 8 O’clock and then go to bed at 11 you’re likely to find that you are lying in bed and can’t switch off for the night.
So it’s important then that we restrict our caffeine intake at least 4 or 5 hours before we sleep in order to beat insomnia. This will break the caffiene sleep connection!
‘But what about my pre-bedtime snack or cup of coffee I hear you cry!!!’
Tough!
I’m going to be showing you tough love today, so you can get better sleep tonight.
Caffeine sleep fact: If you want to know how to beat insomnia, consuming No Caffeine 4 or 5 hours before sleep is a good way to get better sleep.
So what are these harbourers of such a cruel and evil sleep monster?
Well there are certain foods, drinks, and substances that you want to avoid, especially four or five hours before sleep:
- Coffee
- Tea
- Cola
- Chocolate (that includes chocolate puddings, chocolate ice cream, hot chocolate, chocolate milkshakes, chocolate chip cookies and so on. Basically anything with chocolate in I’m afraid)
- Liqueurs (specifically coffee and chocolate)
- Any cocoa cereals
- Some medications (usually cold and pain meds)
- AND ENERGY DRINKS!
To beat insomnia ensure you consume nothing on this list for the four or five hours before you go to bed.
Oh, and the reason I have capitalised ENERGY DRINKS is that I vividly remember one client approaching me, looking as though he hadn’t slept for years, and telling me that ‘he thinks drinking a Red Bull energy drink before he went to bed might not be helping him get better sleep’.
That’s probably the most brazen caffeine sleep destroyer I’ve seen!
He was of course right! And it helped him discover how to beat insomnia as a result of beating the caffeine sleep destroyer!
So here it is. I want you to stop consuming caffeine for ATLEAST 4 hours before going to bed in to break your caffeine sleep problem.
Do this for a whole week.
And then come back over and let me know how breaking the caffeine sleep link helped you get better sleep.