Why Do I Feel Sleepier After Drinking Coffee? The Paradox of Coffee-Induced Drowsiness

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Why Does Coffee Make Some People Sleepy While Others Stay Awake?

We're all drinking coffee, so why does it make some people unable to sleep at night while making others feel even more tired?

Since yesterday's article titled "Time for Coffee! How Much Coffee Can I Drink in a Day?" was published in Coffee Workshop, I noticed an interesting question: What causes people to feel even more tired after drinking coffee?

Here, I'd like to ask everyone a few questions:

1. Does your coffee contain sugar?

First, have you ever experienced post-meal drowsiness? That feeling of suddenly feeling sleepy right after eating a full meal. Besides the theory that blood concentration in the digestive system causes fatigue, there's another explanation related to blood sugar elevation.

So when your cup of coffee is particularly sweet, after you take two big gulps, this post-meal drowsiness kicks in. You might think caffeine would make you alert first, but before you can wake up, you're knocked down by the sugar. That's because the body processes sugar much faster than caffeine.

Additionally, a 2016 study on type 2 diabetes showed that caffeine can temporarily reduce insulin sensitivity, affect glucose metabolism, and thereby raise blood sugar levels.

2. Do you drink additional water when consuming coffee?

As everyone knows, coffee has diuretic properties. Hearing this, some might applaud, but this has both pros and cons, and could even create a vicious cycle of dehydration.

Here's how it works: People drink coffee, coffee prompts urination. Urination dehydrates the body. After dehydration, blood becomes thicker. Because blood becomes thicker, blood flow slows down. This leads to reduced oxygen transport rates. Insufficient oxygen makes people sluggish. At this point, they drink more coffee.

After drinking alcohol, when feeling thirsty, people typically drink water rather than more alcohol. But with coffee? When dehydrated and thirsty after coffee, in many cases, people still continue drinking more coffee.

3. Are you deficient in B vitamins?

Today's working professionals are so dedicated to their jobs that they would practically climb walls to escape. When busy, meal times are often handled casually. Over time, this leads to nutritional deficiencies. Human metabolism requires B vitamins. When the body lacks B vitamins, fatigue is more likely to occur.

Caffeine not only speeds up human metabolism but also increases the consumption of B vitamins due to increased activity related to nerve and muscle coordination. Additionally, caffeine itself needs to be metabolized and excreted from the body. Therefore, when B vitamins are insufficient, the body already feels tired, and the amount of substances that need to be metabolized and excreted increases. The body may then send a signal saying "I can't handle this," resulting in you feeling even more tired after drinking coffee.

4. When do you feel tired after drinking coffee? Immediately or several hours later?

Those who carefully read the previous article should know that coffee's stimulating effect occurs because caffeine binds to adenosine receptors. Where does adenosine come from? Adenosine is one of the byproducts after adenosine triphosphate (ATP) has been used. As everyone knows, ATP is the most direct source of energy in living organisms.

I believe everyone has experienced long-distance running. After each run, there's a feeling of being completely drained. Besides during exercise, as long as you're breathing, your body continuously consumes energy. While consuming energy, adenosine is also produced, which then binds to adenosine receptors, sending information about energy consumption back to the brain, resulting in fatigue. Caffeine is too similar to adenosine, so adenosine receptors are occupied by caffeine, and the fatigue signal cannot be transmitted.

However, adenosine doesn't just disappear. It accumulates, waiting for caffeine to leave its rightful place. Then, adenosine's revenge begins. Adenosine binds to adenosine receptors, producing fatigue, pulling you from heaven to hell in a short time.

5. Did you eat foods before drinking coffee that contain ingredients that counteract caffeine?

This is similar to the effect of drinking alcohol after taking anti-hangover medication. If you consumed foods containing ingredients that counteract caffeine before drinking coffee, the caffeine will be neutralized in your body, and you will still feel tired.

Conclusion

Based on this analysis, we can conclude:

• Avoid drinking coffee with added sugar
• Remember to drink plenty of water when consuming coffee
• Maintain a balanced diet and supplement with essential nutrients
• Consume caffeine in moderation

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