is it ok to drink decaf coffee at night

Is It Ok To Drink Decaf Coffee at Night? 4 Amazing Facts

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If you are looking for the right answer to the question is it ok to drink decaf coffee at night, then you may find the right answer here.

Yes, there is nothing wrong in drinking small amounts of decaf coffee at night. When we talk about decaf coffee or decaffeinated drinks, we are referring to a coffee, cocoa, or tea where the caffeine content is removed.

Generally when we talk about decaffeinated coffee, we are referring to drinks that come with around 1 to 2% of original coffee content.

However there are some drinks that contain as much as 20% of caffeine and therefore it depends on the type of decaffeinated drinks that you are planning to choose.

Is it Okay to Drink Decaf Coffee at Night?

Yes, there is nothing wrong in drinking decaf coffee at night provided the quantum of caffeine in the coffee is within manageable limits.

In fact, there are many myths surrounding coffee and the same needs to be busted. This is because according to health experts, coffee could be one of the biggest sources of antioxidants especially for people who follow the western diet.

In the same light, it would be pertinent to understand that even decaf coffee contains reasonably big amounts of useful antioxidants.

However, the mentioned above the quantum of antioxidants in decaffeinated coffee could be around 20% lower when compared to caffeinated coffee.

Hence, this is an important point to be kept in mind when one plans to drink decaffeinated coffee especially during the night.

Checkout the 10 Best Decaf Coffee Beans 

Click below to see our review

The main antioxidants that are present in decaf coffee are also present in caffeinated coffee. We need to understand that decaf is almost similar to caffeinated coffee.

Many people have a liking for coffee drinking but they are keen on limiting the overall caffeine intake because of some health reasons or other personal preferences.

is it ok to drink decaf coffee at night

However, like all caffeinated drinks it would be better to limit the quantity of coffee especially during the nights.

We need to bear in mind that there are many different ways for removing caffeine from the coffee beans.

Water is used commonly for this purpose and sometimes carbon-di-oxide and some other organic solvents are used for separating caffeine from coffee.

Since 97% of caffeine is removed from coffee before it becomes decaf, there is nothing wrong in having limited quantities of this coffee, especially during the nights.

Related Article: Does espresso have milk?

Best Decaf Coffee to Drink at Night

  1. Lifeboost Medium Roast Decaf: Best organic decaf and low acid coffee
  2. Volcanica Decaf Espresso Dark Roast: Best decaf for espresso at night
  3. Victor Allen's Decaf Variety K Cups: Best decaf variety pack for Keurig machines

Is it bad if I drink coffee at night?

Most of us enjoy a cup of hot coffee after a days' hard work or when we wake up early in the morning. It helps us to keep energetic and active.

Therefore, drinking a cup or two of caffeinated or decaf coffee is admissible. However, we should be careful about drinking coffee before we go to bed because of certain reasons.

Here are some reasons why drinking too much coffee especially during the nights may not be a good idea.

It might disturb sleep. According to some studies excessive intake of caffeine late at night should be avoided. This is because it might negatively impact the quality of sleep.

Caffeine is known to delay the onset of sleep. If drinking coffee during the night before sleep becomes a regular habit, it could lead to insomnia in the long run.

drinking decaf at night

You should avoid reaching this situation because it could prove dangerous for both mental health and physical health.

It also may lead to tiredness during the day. Many people are into the habit of drinking a cup of coffee before going to bed.

Yes, coffee is a good stress-buster but it removes stress and tension only for a short period of time. However, the long term impact of regular consumption of caffeine during the night is not good.

It could lead to tiredness, disturbed mood, anxiety and irritability and various other side effects. Therefore while giving up coffee during the night is a good idea, you may have it once in a while if you feel extremely stressed and tense.

Related Article: What is an Iced Americano?

How late is too late for coffee?

Answering the question as to how late is too late for coffee is not simple. It depends on various factors such as number of cups of coffee consumed during the day, age of the person, etc. 

However, as a general rule, it has been found one should try and limit consumption of coffee at least 3 or 4 hours before going to bed.

We need to understand that caffeine, whether it is decaf or caffeinated, stays in the bloodstream for around 2 to 3 hours.

Therefore, if you get into the habit of drinking coffee just before going to bed, you will be ensuring that it stays in the blood when you must actually be sleeping.

This will impact the quality of sleep and as mentioned above, if it is not rectified or remedied it could lead to insomnia and a host of various other problems and health challenges.

While staying away from caffeine (decaf or caffeinated) after 6 pm is advisable, the latest cut-off for drinking caffeine should not go beyond 7 pm.

The main objective of avoiding caffeinated drinks late in the night is to prevent caffeine from getting into the bloodstream and preventing normal and quality sleep.

Does decaf coffee help you sleep?

Caffeine by nature leads to alertness of the mind and body. Therefore, taking caffeine before sleep should, in the normal course, impair quality of sleep. 

However, there are research studies to prove that decaf coffee could help a person to fall asleep. This is because decaf coffee has 97% caffeine removed from it. This may help a person to fall asleep easily when compared to caffeinated drinks.

Apart from the above, when caffeinated coffee is converted into decaf coffee, different types of organic chemicals and substances are used.

decaf ok before bedtime

Some of these substances may have properties that could lead to sleep. Hence, this could be one more reason why decaf coffee may help a person to fall asleep easily even if we consume a cup just before going to bed.

Further, decaf coffee is a rich source of many antioxidant properties and vitamins and minerals. These may also help in a person falling asleep easily.

Final Thoughts

There are reasons to believe that limited intake of decaf coffee is actually good for our health. This is because a major portion of potentially harmful caffeine is removed from decaffeinated coffee.

Secondly decaf coffee still continues to have all the important antioxidant properties that are helpful for our body on a daily basis.

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