It is common to hear stories of coffee addicts who have decided to cut into caffeine ingestion and noticed that they had weird or detailed dreams.
Have you recently reduced caffeine consumption and you feel that you are having the most vivid dreams of your life?
Although there are several potential benefits in reducing caffeine intake – such as white teeth and less toilets – we often hear that a disadvantage of reducing caffeine consumption is the emergence of vivid dreams (and sometimes scary).
It is a strange and specific effect that many people say that comes a few days after reducing caffeine intake.
But is there really any science behind this? Let’s look at what the investigation can tell us.
How caffeine affects sleep
Caffeine is a stimulant that makes you feel alert and awake. It acts by blocking a chemical in our brain called adenosine.
Adenosine is usually accumulated during the day, while we are awake and active. In the evening, the accumulation of adenosine in our brains Help us to feel sleepy. Adenosine is eliminated as we sleep and wake up ideally, feeling invigorated, ready for adenosine to accumulate.
When we ingest caffeine, it blocks the adenosine signal. Thus, while adenosine is still present, We don’t feel the drowsiness so intensely. When the effect of caffeine passes, our desire to sleep increases (caffeine fall).
Caffeine has a semi-life of about three to six hourswhich means that half of the caffeine we consume is still in our body after this period and, especially, still affects adenosine. This is why, for many people, consuming caffeine in the afternoon or evening can make sleep difficult at night.
In interfering with adenosine signaling, caffeine can also make our sleep more interrupted and reduce the total amount of sleep that we have. This is especially true for our deep and repairing sleep, not REM sleep (rapid eye movement). Overall, the investigation clearly shows that the later we eat caffeine and the more we eat, worse for our sleep.
There is not much direct research on whether reducing caffeine consumption makes our dreams more vivid. Most studies focus on the way caffeine affects sleep, not what happens in our dreams.
But that does not mean that we are totally in the dark. We know that sleep quality and dreams are closely linked.
So why are less caffeine = more vivid dreams?
Even without direct evidence, people continue to say the same thing: they reduce caffeine consumption and, in a few nights, their dreams begin to seem more vivid, detailed or simply strange.
Although the reduction in caffeine consumption does not directly cause vivid dreams, There is a plausible connection. Since caffeine can reduce full sleep and increase night awakening, especially when consumed at the end of the day, reducing consumption can allow our body to recover. Sleeping more can increase the amount of REM sleep (rapid eye movement).
The REM is a sleep phase in which our body is relaxed, but our Brain is very active. It is also the sleep phase associated with dreams. More Rem sleep can mean more opportunities for our brain to produce vivid and elaborate dreams.
Rem sleep is also the sleep phase of which we are most likely to wake up at night and, if we wake up that sleep, we will probably remember our dreams, because are “fresh” in our memory.
Therefore, reducing caffeine consumption can mean that we will have more REM sleep, which means more opportunities to dream and more opportunities to remember our dreams.
Of course, sleep is complex, just like dreams. Not everyone will have vivid dreams suddenly after leaving caffeine, and the effect can last only a few days or weeks.
The main question is that there are not much concrete evidence that relates the reduction of caffeine consumption with vivid dreams, but there may be an association. Caffeine affects our sleep. Sleep affects our dreams. And when we remove caffeine from the equation, or reduce it, it can give our brain the hypothesis of spending more time in remmgottish.
It all depends on the right time
When we think of caffeine, we usually think of coffee and energy drinks. But caffeine can also be found in certain sodas, chocolate, tea, pre-workout supplements and medicines.
Caffeine has a number of benefits, including cognitive function and mental health. For example, some studies have shown that those who drink coffee have a lower risk of depressionwhile caffeine has been associated with a reduced risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. Coffee also contains B vitamins and antioxidants, essential components of healthy eating.
For those who work by shifts, especially those who work at night, caffeine is usually a way to control fatigue. And even those who do not work by shifts may not be able to focus on the day’s tasks without that first (or second) cup of coffee.
If you are not willing to completely cut into caffeine, but you want to optimize your sleep, it all depends on the right time. Try to avoid caffeine during At least eight hours before bedtime And avoid large doses up to 12 hours before bedtime. Your sleep can thank and your dreams can surprise you.
