Stimulants – including caffeine, nicotine, and stimulant medications – can decrease restful sleep and impact mood as a result.
Stimulants And Sleep
Just as benzodiazepines can decrease restorative sleep, stimulants can decrease restorative sleep – making you more reactive and less resilient to the things that happen in life.
Coffee, tea, cigarettes, vapes, nicotine gum or patches, stimulant medications such as methylphenidate, and other kinds of stimulants may be useful but they can have significant downsides that we aren’t always aware of; they can, for instance, contribute to feelings of anxiety, they can suppress appetite, they can increase heart rate and blood pressure, they have the potential for abuse and dependency, and they can impact sleep even when we stop taking them many hours before going to sleep.
Many people will say “Oh, but I stop drinking coffee at noon”. However, caffeine has about a 5-6 hour half-life. Even if you stop drinking caffeine at noon, six hours later you’ll still have half that amount in your system, and a quarter of that amount left twelve hours later at midnight. This can be particularly meaningful if you drink more than one cup of caffeine a day, or drink caffeine in later parts of the day. You may end up with the equivalent of one or more cups of coffee still in your system when you’re trying to go to bed.
Some people will notice the effects of caffeine or other stimulants as difficulty falling asleep. Some people may be tired enough to fall asleep, but as soon as they’ve decreased that level of tiredness, they wake up early. The effect of stimulants can present as insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night, or waking up too early in the morning.
Some people may smoke before bed, thinking the experience is relaxing. However, the relaxing part of smoking is actually the taking a time out, leaving whatever it is you’re doing, going outside, and doing deep breathing and mindful breathing exercises. The nicotine itself is such a powerful stimulant that using it anytime within hours before bed can cause insomnia or restless sleep as well.
A vicious cycle
Many patients will sleep poorly and increase their stimulant use to compensate for it. This affects their sleep the next night, and so on. They may even include medications that are downers or depressants to correct for the stimulants and help them fall asleep, which then causes a hangover effect the next morning, which they than correct for with more stimulants. These behaviors create a very vicious cycle.
Cut Back To Sleep Better and Improve your Well Being
We invite our patients to try decreasing their stimulant use throughout the day and especially as they approach bedtime and see how it affects their sleep – both getting to sleep and staying asleep – although we caution against stopping abruptly. Stimulant withdrawal from stopping rapidly, instead of tapering gradually, can feel pretty bad and also negatively impact your sleep. It’s best to taper your stimulant use over time, when possible.
Restful sleep can have dramatic effects on resilience, flexibility, anxiety, and mood. Getting good sleep is one of the best things you can do for your mood and overall mental health. Being careful with your use of stimulants can help.
Limiting stimulants, especially later in the day, is one of the most simple, and most effective ways to protect your sleep and mental health.
About Us
Wells Medicine is a Houston-based practice designed to provide meaningful care for mental health. Providing targeted interventional treatments for Depression, Anxiety, OCD, PTSD and other conditions, with Ketamine Treatments, Stellate Ganglion Blocks, TMS, and Nitrous-Oxide Treatments. Focused on comprehensive care and integration with Psychiatry, Psychology, and Support Services. We are evidence-based, patient-focused and mission-driven.
The content here is for informational purposes and should not be relied upon for medical decisions. For the details of your specific medical conditions and treatments consult your doctors or other qualified healthcare professionals.
