Caffeine’s Effects on our body can be tricky to understand. While it’s known to boost energy for many, some people feel more tired or sluggish after having it. So, lots of questions arise in our mind, one of them is that Why Does Coffee Make Me Feel Sleepy? Let’s explore why this happens and what’s going on in our brains when we drink coffee.
Drinking coffee, or more accurately the caffeine in it, gives us the energy boost. We all know that. The truth is, most people are unable to get started in the morning unless we have a cup of coffee. Yet, for some of us, coffee does not energize us, but instead we feel sleepy or sluggish or over tired. This means that how did that even happen?
Coffee always wakes us up, you’d think.
Let’s break it down.
That’s because of a chemical in our brain called adenosine that makes us feel tired during the day. A natural byproduct—adenosine—builds and signals our body to tell it to take a nap, slowing our brain activity and widening our blood vessels. But here’s the thing: That’s because caffeine looks a lot like adenosine, so it sneaks in and blocks those receptors instead.
Caffeine blocks adenosine when it does this, so we don’t feel tired. The good news about caffeine is that it doesn’t actually get rid of adenosine in your body. Makes it stop a while to do its job for you. All that built up adenosine comes rushing back so when the caffeine wears off… that’s when you start feeling super tired again.
It’s almost like when you eat something sugary and you get a quick burst of energy and it crashes quickly. If you drank coffee with a lot of sugar your tiredness might get even worse after the caffeine has worn off.
That also includes caffeine’s diuretic effect, which makes you pee more. Feeling tired can be a result of dehydration and that dehydration is yet another cause of that. But some studies show that no one is dehydrated as bad as you think after the caffeine.
That last one might sound silly, but for those of us who have been drinking coffee for a long time, we could easily become accustomed and forget how much it helps us to perk us up and how much energy it sends into our bodies, and our bodies would adjust to the same — until we switch to another substance that is energizing. If that’s true, then the only way to fix it is to reduce how much coffee you glug down every single day.
So, there you have it. Coffee acts differently with everyone and understanding in what ways it works on our body can explain why some people after a cup feel awake and others feel sleepy.
Also Read: Best Time to Drink Coffee for Maximum Energy (Trust Me, It Works!)
Why does coffee make some people sleepy?
Coffee, or more specifically caffeine, works by blocking a chemical called adenosine in our brain that makes us feel tired. However, once the caffeine wears off, all that built-up adenosine can cause us to feel even more tired than before.
Does caffeine get rid of adenosine permanently?
No, caffeine temporarily blocks adenosine from doing its job, but it doesn’t remove it from your body. Once the caffeine effect wears off, the adenosine buildup catches up, which can lead to tiredness.
Why does drinking sugary coffee make me more tired?
When you consume sugary coffee, it gives you a quick burst of energy, but that energy crashes fast, leaving you feeling even more tired than before.
Can caffeine make me dehydrated?
Caffeine has a diuretic effect, meaning it can make you pee more, which can contribute to dehydration. However, studies show that caffeine doesn’t dehydrate you as much as people usually think.
Why does coffee stop working after a while?
If you’ve been drinking coffee for a long time, your body may get used to it, reducing its energizing effects. The best way to fix this is to cut back on your coffee consumption.