Just realized my morning coffee routine was wrecking my sleep data

I went to a sleep tracking workshop at a local clinic in Portland last month. The guy running it asked about my caffeine intake and I said I drink my first cup around 6:30 AM. He pointed out that caffeine stays in your system for like 6-8 hours depending on your genetics. I checked my Oura ring logs and sure enough, my deep sleep was consistently low on days I had coffee after 10 AM. Switched to green tea before noon and my sleep score went up by 12 points in two weeks. Anyone else find a hidden habit that messed with their biofeedback numbers?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin_kim1d ago

Actually the half-life of caffeine is more like 4-6 hours for most people, but yeah it can still mess with deep sleep if you have it too late. Green tea is a solid swap though since it has way less caffeine and some L-theanine to smooth things out.

smith.elliot1d ago

Wow wait, 12 points in two weeks just from switching to green tea? That's wild. I've been blaming my mattress and my partner's snoring for years. I had a similar thing with my evening screen time. Thought I was fine because I use blue light filters, but I ran a 30 day experiment turning off all screens an hour before bed. My HRV went up like 8 points on average and I stopped waking up at 3 AM every night. Might have to try your green tea trick though. I've been stubborn about my morning coffee for too long.