Wakey
Sleep tools

When should I stop drinking coffee?

For a 11:00 PM bedtime, have your last caffeine by 3:00 PM (8 hours before bed). 5:00 PM is the latest, and nearly half of it would still be active at bedtime.

I go to bed at

Last caffeine by

  1. 3:00 PM8 h before bed · ~33% still active at bedtime
  2. 5:00 PM6 h before bed · ~44% still active at bedtime

What to do with the number

  1. Treat the earlier time as your daily cutoff. The later one is the latest you can push it, not a target.
  2. Count all of it: coffee, tea, cola, energy drinks and pre-workout.
  3. If you sleep badly, move the cutoff earlier by an hour and see if it helps.

Common questions

How long does caffeine stay in your body?

Its half-life is about 5 hours in healthy adults, ranging from about 2 to 10. Half of a 3 PM coffee is still active around 8 PM.

How late can I drink coffee?

A sleep-lab study found 400 mg of caffeine even 6 hours before bed cut total sleep by about an hour. Stopping 8 hours before bed is the safer rule.

How much caffeine is too much?

The FDA cites 400 mg a day, about four or five cups of coffee, as an amount not generally linked to negative effects for healthy adults.

One thing this cannot do

Caffeine sensitivity varies a lot. Genetics, pregnancy, some medicines and smoking change how fast you clear it, so your real cutoff may be earlier or later.

Sources: Drake et al. 2013, Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed · FDA, Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?.General information, not medical advice.

More sleep calculators