I had too much caffeine this afternoon and now I can't fall asleep. What to do?
Asked by
jordym84 (
4752
)
February 8th, 2013
Yesterday I had to be at work early in the morning for a double shift after having worked until late the previous night. I never drink coffee or anything else that has caffeine, but I was in dire need of a boost midway through my day so I drank a huge cup of freshly brewed coffee. I have another double shift this morning (I have to be up in just about 4 more hours) and I’ve been lying in bed, willing myself to sleep, for the past 3 hours or so to no avail. I’m so exhausted and yet can’t fall asleep because of that darned cup of coffee many hours ago!!! I’ve tried counting sheep, hugging my pillows, “yelling” at myself internally to fall asleep, etc, etc, but nothing seems to be working. I’m at my wit’s end and don’t know what else to do. Any suggestions (besides “never drink coffee again”) to at least help me make use of the few hours I have left before my alarm goes off??
Thank you!
And I swear to never, ever drink coffee ever again!!
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8 Answers
Drink some warm milk. Tell each body part to relax and tell your mind in a meditative way, it’s OK to rest
Sometimes when a person has consumed too much caffeine, even all the usual approaches to induce sleep do not initially succeed. I have found that reading physiology texts can make me quite sleepy.
Drink a lot of water and wait it out.
I have to disagree with @cookieman do not drink a lot of water. It will not rid you of the caffeine faster and you will have to pee, which will interupt your ability to sleep. I don’t mean avoid water, I just mean don’t drink extra.
Sounds like you are kind of screwed for tonight and tomorrow. If you ever drink caffeine again for help, drink less. Half a cup. You will probably feel really crappy for the next couple days because of getting the drug out of your body and lack of sleep. If you have the following day off, you might go ahead and drink a little caffeine for your shift tomorrow.
To fall asleep tonight, turn off the co puter and the lights, make it very dark, xlose your eyes and think of one thing and repeat it over and over. Picture it as you say it in your mind. Can be a number, can be a carrot. I am completely serious.
Try to learn a lesson from that mistake.
This is probably too late to help you now, but if you find yourself in a similar situation, take a benadryl or half a benadryl 8 hours before you need to wake up. It should do the trick.
Honey milk and magnesium.
Learn from your mistake. Water, milk, honey or whatever won’t help. The only thing you can do is not make matters worse for your liver. If your liver is busy with alcohol or medication etc it has less capacity for getting rid of the caffeine. Let your liver focus on the caffeine. It will get rid of it. That’s what livers do for a living.
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