“Coffee is a language in itself.” — Jackie Chan
My family and I recently visited Portugal, where I was fascinated by the local coffee culture. The Portuguese seemed perfectly comfortable drinking tiny but very strong cups of espresso at all hours of the day — even after late dinners.
Personally, I found the coffee far too strong for my taste. I much prefer American coffee, which feels milder and easier on my system.
When I mentioned the topic of coffee to my daughter, she told me about a friend of hers who can drink coffee late at night and still sleep perfectly well. Strangely enough, caffeine doesn’t wake him up in the morning either. It seems to have almost no effect on him at all.
Meanwhile, I have to be careful. I usually limit myself to one or two cups of coffee or tea a day. If I drink caffeine after noon, there’s a good chance I’ll be staring at the ceiling at midnight. Yet oddly, if I’m truly exhausted, I can still fall asleep no matter how much caffeine I’ve had.
It makes me wonder: is caffeine’s effect on sleep partly biological and partly psychological? Have some of us conditioned ourselves to believe coffee keeps us awake, while others are simply immune to it? Or is it all genetics, metabolism, and tolerance?
How does caffeine affect you? Can you drink coffee late at night and still sleep well, or do you avoid it after a certain hour?
