I’m a huge fan of coffee.

And while I have been for many years, I didn’t develop a mild obsession until living in Colombia a few years ago.

But since putting more focus into optimizing my sleep, I’ve become cognizant of its potent and long-lasting effects.

While I don’t often drink a lot of coffee, there are days when I will have one or two in the afternoon — depending on how I feel or what I’m working on.

This, I’ve recently learned, is horrible for sleep.

The half-life of caffeine is between 5 and 6 hours. This means that if you have a cup of coffee at noon, nearly half of that caffeine will be active in your system at midnight.

Sure, the ‘crash’ effect makes you feel sleepy, you may even fall asleep quickly. But your sleep quality will be lacking, and you’ll wake up feeling groggy and lethargic.

So that late-afternoon pick-me-up you rely on to get you through the evening is ruining any chance of having a good sleep. And therefore causing you to rely on more caffeine to get going in the morning — and the cycle continues.

So, if you’re a coffee lover like myself, keep enjoying that sweet dark nectar. But pace yourself — especially if you want to improve your sleep.