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I like green tea. I drink several cups a day since January 2007. But yesterday I stopped. Why? Because I think the caffeine in green tea is affecting my sleep.
Sleep problems
I don’t remember when it started, but the last months the quality of my sleep is not what it used to be. Insomnia & sleep disruptions are things I struggle with.
I thought stress & work caused my sleep problems. But talking with Scott Bird this weekend changed my mind.
Scott advised me to convert to a Biphasic Sleep routine. I read everything on this topic. Eventually I stumbled on articles about coffee & caffeinism. I wondered: could the caffeine in green tea affect the quality of my sleep?
Caffeinism
An overuse of caffeine can lead to a condition called “Caffeinism”. Symptoms are: anxiety, nervousness, sleep disruption, restlessness, irritability, stomach complaints, tremulousness, palpitations, arrythmias & diuresis. Caffeinism can affect anyone consuming more than 300mg caffeine a day.
I’ve been experiencing several of the above symptoms during the last months. They say green tea has low caffeine content. Let’s see if I this is true.
Caffeine content in green tea
I drink Temple of Heaven Gunpowder Green Tea. It comes in boxes of 250g. The package has no info on caffeine content. Nutritiondata.com provides no info neither. Searching Google gave me this:
- A 200ml cup of green tea should contain 2,25g tea
- Caffeine content of a 200ml cup green tea is between 15mg & 50mg
I consume a 250g box of green tea on a period of 14 days. This is 17g tea per day on average. Which means I get 130mg to 390mg caffeine a day.
This is an average of 250mg caffeine a day. Close enough to do a test: quit drinking green tea & see how this affects my sleep.
Withdrawal effects
I haven’t touched a cup of green tea since Saturday. How do I feel? Well not that good. The withdrawal symptoms of caffeine are well documented: headaches, anxiety, fatigue, lethargy,… The advice is too reduce caffeine gradually to minimize withdrawal effects.
I don’t like reducing gradually. I like short pain. Since yesterday I have depressive mood, a lack motivation/concentration & general fatigue. These withdrawal effects should last no more than 5 days.
Today’s Strength Training Workout wasn’t productive. However I went sleeping at 11PM yesterday, falling asleep immediately. I even slept for one hour today after my workout.
Does green tea affect sleep?
I think so. I won’t be drinking green tea during the next 3 weeks. We’ll see if my sleep improves or not. I’ll report back on June 1st 2007. In the meanwhile post your thoughts using the comment section.
More info on caffeine, caffeinism & green tea:
- Caffeine on Wikipedia
- Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health Partnership about Caffeinism
- Gunpowder Green Tea on Wikipedia
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What were your reasons for drinking (that much) green tea anyway? Just for the tast, or also because of other reasons?
- Paul
Thanks for your comment Paul.
Green tea is a powerful antioxidant. Which is particularly interesting for anybody doing strength training.
And of course I just like the taste, good alternative for all the water I drink.
Best of luck. I forgot to ask - are you consuming caffeine from any other sources (soft drinks, medications etc)?
I used to eat 10g pure chocolate in the evening. Dropped this too, contains caffeine.
Last night: went in bed at 11:30pm, fell asleep after a few minutes. I feel better today.
I’ve replaced caffeine teas with herb teas. My favorite right now is Tazo African Red Bush.
The more fit I’ve become, the more I notice the affects of various foods and beverages. I used to drink coffee up to 4PM without noticeable side effects. That changed - caffeine after 10AM results in sleep disturbances. Same thing with alcohol. Sometimes one drink results in sleep problems now.
Thanks for the tip Steve.
I’m gonna try the Rooibos you advise once this no-green-tea-experiment is over. Rooibos seems to help with insomnia too.
That’s interesting - I’ve been gradually seeing a similar effect, without being certain of the correlation. Particularly with the impact of caffeine and sleep.
Maybe we’re caffeine sensitive Scott. Looks like 20% of population is caffeine sensitive
It seems to be a byproduct of improved health and fitness. On another note, I’d say that I’m also more sensitive to sugar now.
Definitely a byproduct of improved health & fitness. I’m also more sensitive to sugar.
Ever tried the Metabolic Diet? Cutting out the sugar completely is something you must try one day. I’ll write a post on it in the future.
Tnx for the comments Scott.
Teas have caffeine in it. I think you can get decaffeinated green tea to enjoy the benefits of green tea.
Anita,
Correct. Decaffeinated green tea is an alternative for caffeine sensitive people. Thanks for the tip!
I also heard recently that you can reduce the amount of caffeine in tea by about fifty percent if you steep for thirty seconds, remove the steeped water, then add new water.
I’ve read that too somewhere. Not very practical imo, but it is a solution if you’re caffeine sensitive & don’t have access to caffeine-free tea.
Thanks for sharing Sebastian.
And how are doin’ now? Are you drinking any more Green Tea?
Are you doin’ the decaf stuff?
I thought you would: ‘I’ll report back on June 1st 2007′ but either I’ve looked over it, or you didn’t post it yet.
Greetz,
Mike
You didn’t looked over it, Mike. I just didn’t post any update. I’ve stopped drinking green tea. Sleep is very good.
I didn’t switch to decaf, because I don’t know where you can buy it in Belgium. Didn’t took the time to search for it yet.
If you have more questions, feel free to ask.