I sure do love caffeine. I have used it in many forms, from coffee to tablets to fancy pre-workout powders loaded with it. The problem with caffeine is that while it helps improve alertness, our bodies adapt to it rather quickly, and caffeine will then just bring us to our “normal” state of being caffeinated. So we have a little more, which we then adapt to as well. Soon, we’re all day coffee drinkers, or tea drinkers, or diet soda drinkers, or pill poppers.
From an exercise perspective, caffeine improves performance when taken before exercise. How effective depends on how adapted we are to it, and how much we take. I’ve experimented with more and less, including my most aggressive performance improvement routine of only using caffeine before my workouts, drinking decaf coffee when I want a steaming hot cup of delicious java.
The routine I’ve fallen into now is a cup of Folgers after breakfast, another at 11:00 AM and then 400 MG in tablet form around 3:00 for my afternoon workout. I can’t say that I get much out of any of it so I’m clearly quite adapted to it.
The most concerning aspect of caffeine use, particularly later in the day, is its possible impact on sleep. It’s got a healthy half life, so you’re still feeling the stimulant effects of caffeine hours afterwards, so there isn’t much debate that my 400 MG late in the afternoon is adversely impacting my sleep. I sleep pretty well generally, so I haven’t been overly concerned about making any changes to my routine, until I listened to a podcast with a sleep specialist today. She confirmed much of what I’ve been experiencing and what my Oura ring has been telling me.
My Oura data confirms I get my requisite 7-8 hours every night, but I generally have alerts about my REM sleep, Deep Sleep and Restfulness. I do wake up to use the bathroom most nights, and I often wake up momentarily, roll over, and go back to sleep. Could it be the caffeine? I’m not sure, but there is one way to find out.
Today, I decided I could easily complete my workout without caffeine first. It was harder than I thought to skip it as I was doing Deadlifts and Front Squats today, so I argued with myself I probably should take at least a little. But I didn’t, and my workout was just fine. In fact, as I write this at 7:30 PM I actually feel less of a post workout crash than I usually feel, making me think the crash is actually coming down from the caffeine vs. any exercise related fatigue. Interesting development.
We’ll see how I sleep tonight and what my Oura stats look like in the morning. It’s only one day, and I still had my two cups of coffee today as per usual, but with my last dose of caffeine at 11:00 AM, it should be out of my system by bedtime. Who knows, if this goes well, maybe I’ll make the slow switch to Folgers Decaf. After all, if my workouts aren’t adversely impacted, if I can still have the deliciousness and health benefits of a hot cup of coffee, and my sleep improves, it’s all positive.
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