[rcconf]

I have the same issue, it's truly unfortunate. What's odd is I forget about what caffeine does to my sleep and after a few weeks/months of drinking it, I'm wondering why I'm so stressed, tired and can't get ANY sleep.

I stop drinking coffee and BAM, I sleep like a baby. It doesn't MATTER when I drink it, I can drink it at 6AM and I will not have a good deep sleep. I am unsure if this is coincidence, but I also notice I remember way less dreams when I am on caffeine than not. I also find it's a compounding effect which is why it's slightly annoying.

If I drink 1 cup, in 2 weeks, my sleep will be fine so I will think, okay, it's not the caffeine. Then I will continue drinking it for weeks and suddenly I haven't had a good nights rest in weeks and I'm wondering what is going on. Not having deep sleep for weeks really has a big impact on your stress levels, memory, emotional well being and general energy levels.

The annoying part is coffee is so good for productivity so I go through cycles (also you start to think it's the stress not the caffeine that's causing the sleep issue!)

Weeks of stressful work - drink more caffeine to get all the work done - bad sleep, bad mood, bad energy levels, aka all the negative affects from not having enough deep sleep.

Weeks of less stressful work, no caffeine, great sleep, great mood/energy levels, etc.

I've always convinced myself that not drinking caffeine for deep sleep is just placebo, but I've tested it so many times that it just can't be.

Is there a way to test if you're a slower metabolizer? I know my partner can drink 3 cups and she is totally fine, lucky her! I'm 100% convinced I am, but it would be cool to test by some sort of blood/urine test?

[aantix]

You'll have to do a genetic test. Nebula, 23andme, etc.

Then look at CYP1A2, see if you have the C/C genotype.

Definitely read the Genetic Life Hacks article that I linked to above.

[dommer]

Stay away from 23andme if you have any privacy concerns. I've worked with providers of DNA insights and advice that don't build their revenue model on selling your data. For example DNAPal.me

[UniverseHacker]

CYP1A2 is the whole gene- you need to look at marker rs762551 within CYP1A2. Both the C/C and A/C genotype are slow caffeine metabolizers. The most common genotype is A/A, which is a fast metabolizer.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/snp/rs762551

[grvdrm]

So if C/C then slow metabolizer?

[MetallicDragon]

This sounds like the same cycle I go through, especially the forgetting part. I've found that cycling caffeine through the week (taking a break on weekends) and just not having too much even during the week can help maintain the productivity, but it also means spending my weekends in a tired daze. I think I just need to commit to not having any caffeine, or if I do, only taking it temporarily before stopping again.

[Obscurity4340]

So if I can fall asleep after moderate amounts (like, right away after intake), this prolly doesn't affect me, no?

[mattgreenrocks]

Fascinating. What are your deep sleep totals on and off caffeine?