When should I stop drinking caffeine?
Last updated September 3, 2026.
Early afternoon is the default cutoff because caffeine's effects last for hours after the cup. The NHS lists caffeine among the most common causes of insomnia, and the FDA counts insomnia and sleep disruption among too-much symptoms, while noting people metabolize caffeine at very different speeds. Find your line by experiment: start at 2pm, and if you still lie awake, pull it back to noon for two weeks. Count tea, cola, energy drinks, and pre-workout in the total. If sleep is already broken, try two caffeine-free weeks, then reintroduce it at mornings only.
What to do
- Start with a 2pm cutoff; move to noon if sleep does not improve in two weeks.
- Count all sources: coffee, tea, energy drinks, pre-workout, cola, chocolate.
- Try a two-week caffeine holiday if your sleep is already wrecked.
- Keep the daily total near or under 400mg per FDA guidance for most adults.
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