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elfsI am not entirely sure what to make of my new mental states, now that I've given up soda pop.
When I was drinking pop until 5pm or 6pm, I was much more mentally alert around 8pm than I am nowadays. I would have trouble getting to sleep, but not too badly. Heck, when it was cola-based caffeine, I could sleep shortly after downing a large amount. I'd sleep fine, just quickly. I'd be mentally alert and capable until about bedtime.
Theophylline, on the other hand, makes it impossible for me to get to sleep. I used to order iced teas at dinner, mistakenly believing that the caffeine content was less. Theophylline is more powerful than kola or coffee-based trimethylxanthine and has a longer half-life. Lesson for me: don't drink black teas at night.
But now I'm down to two or three cups of coffee a day and, having given up all caffeinated products after 12pm, come 8pm I'm wiped. My eyes are heavy, my body is tired. This is true whether or not I get a full eight hours of sleep. It's sorta frustrating. It makes me think that maybe I should figure out when my last cup of coffee should be in the late afternoon, and enjoy it.
When I was drinking pop until 5pm or 6pm, I was much more mentally alert around 8pm than I am nowadays. I would have trouble getting to sleep, but not too badly. Heck, when it was cola-based caffeine, I could sleep shortly after downing a large amount. I'd sleep fine, just quickly. I'd be mentally alert and capable until about bedtime.
Theophylline, on the other hand, makes it impossible for me to get to sleep. I used to order iced teas at dinner, mistakenly believing that the caffeine content was less. Theophylline is more powerful than kola or coffee-based trimethylxanthine and has a longer half-life. Lesson for me: don't drink black teas at night.
But now I'm down to two or three cups of coffee a day and, having given up all caffeinated products after 12pm, come 8pm I'm wiped. My eyes are heavy, my body is tired. This is true whether or not I get a full eight hours of sleep. It's sorta frustrating. It makes me think that maybe I should figure out when my last cup of coffee should be in the late afternoon, and enjoy it.
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Date: 2011-07-15 12:56 am (UTC)About 15 years ago I finally realized that my regularly scheduled Saturday migraines were caused by caffeine withdrawal. After some experimentation I figured that the equivalent of about a liter of black tea/day with the last consumed no later than 7 pm (given I go to bed at 2 am normally) would avoid most of the problems.