It might be worth skipping the coffee before bed

It's no real surprise that a study conducted by Michigan's Wayne State University has proven that drinking a cup of coffee before bed can be damaging your sleep. What is surprising is just how long the caffeine boost from the hot drink can exist in your system for. The Daily Mail reports that to avoid sleep-loss as a result of caffeine consumption, the latest you should probably have coffee is around 5pm – a real knock to the system should you be someone who relies on the post-work drink to keep you going through the evening. "Drinking a big cup of coffee on the way home from work can lead to negative effects on sleep just as if someone were to consume caffeine closer to bedtime," says Psychiatrist Professor Christopher Wake of the aforementioned American university. The study tested 12 people's sleep patterns, giving a recorded mix of caffeine and placebo tablets. On a non-placebo day, up to an hour of disrupted sleep was recorded in the trial subjects compared to the actual placebo days. This means that the stimulating effect of caffeine that we're all partial to can last up to six hours. So, maybe next time you're rounding off a meal out or coming in after a night on the town, maybe skip the coffee – the six-hour energy boost is probably not worth the detrimental effect on your tiredness levels the next day. It might be worth skipping the coffee before bed