that coffee shop coffee can cause insomnia? I have not slept for the past month and a half. I have a hard time falling asleep and once I get to sleep I awake every hour. I am not getting any REM sleep and man am I feeling the effects. Eveyone says stress, but I don't feel stressed out. The only big event coming up in our lives is a move, which yes can be stressful but it's not really bothering me and I've rarely had sleep problems in my life except when under extreme stress.

The only thing that has changed in my routine is 3 days a week I drop Matthew off at preschool, we are rushed in the morning so I stop for a coffee on the way home. I'm drinking 1 medium French Vanilla coffee (about 8 oz) before 9 am 3 mornings a week and then no other caffeine during the day or on Thursdays or Fridays. Saturday DH will pick one up for me and sometimes on Sundays as well. I used to drink coffee at home in the mornings that I made.

This past week I stopped buying coffee and switched to tea (made at home) in the mornings and I'm sleeping like a baby, except of course when my kids wake me up, but I seem to be cured.

Anyone else experience this? Do you really think it's possible?

By Karen~admin on Sunday, October 15, 2006 - 12:52 pm:

Anything with caffeine can cause insomnia - coffee, tea, chocolate, etc.

I very often get lattes from a coffee shop near my office and there is 3 shots of expresso in the large one. I've had to size down because the caffeine bothers me.

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, October 15, 2006 - 02:37 pm:

You must be pretty sensitive to the caffeine! The older I get it seems the less caffeine I tolerate! I went to Madison with Sarah and ended up having 2 Diet Cokes through the course of the evening. We didn't get home until 2am and I was exhausted, after driving all day. I should have fallen asleep, when my head hit the pillow, but I had trouble falling asleep! I can handle caffeine at supper time, but really shouldn't have any after that! I take caffeine-free diet soda, when it's available, but it's not always available and sometimes I think I ought to just drink water! LOL!

By Heaventree on Sunday, October 15, 2006 - 02:43 pm:

I can drink the coffee I make at home and it's not problem, I think the coffee shop stuff must be loaded with caffeine to have such an effect. Imagine, I have one cup before 9 am and at 12:30 am I'm tossing and turning and waking up every hour. I love, love, love Coke, there was a time when I could drink a litre and go to bed and sleep 12 hours, now I have to be careful with one can. For the past year you could buy Caffeine Free (not diet, I hate aspertime) but they are not selling it anymore .

Isn't middle age grand?

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, October 15, 2006 - 06:49 pm:

Just peachy sometimes! LOL!

By Hol on Sunday, October 15, 2006 - 07:56 pm:

Oh yes, on both counts....I, too, believe that coffee shop coffee is stronger. I think that they DO inject it with some expresso. I have even tasted expresso in Dunkin Donuts coffee (my favourite) sometimes. I think it is because they consolidate the left over coffee into one pot, so as not to waste it. I don't drink Starbucks because I don't like the bitter taste of expresso, and caffiene does NOT set well with me anymore, either.

I stick with decaf (although I have gotten regular by their mistake). I also buy decaf tea and Coke or Pepsi.

And, yes, definitely, we become more caffiene sensitive in middle age.

I usually hit a "slump" time in late afternoon, and I will occassionally drink a diet Mountain Dew to give me a jolt. However, if I drink more than one, I am up all night.

However, having an issue on my mind will also keep me up. Currently, we are in the process of replacing sidewalks at the local Baptist church as my DS Mike's Eagle Scout project. He is doing the actual work, but I have been soliciting donations of brick pavers, gravel, etc. from local lumberyards. Because the cold weather is quickly closing in on us, time is of the essence. The other night, I tossed and turned all night, "laying bricks" in my mind. LOL! We may not THINK that we are preoccupied, but we frequently are.