Yes, Your Coffee Can Make You Sleepy — Here’s What Experts Say

It's a familiar scenario, one which far too many can relate to: you have been searching for ages for the perfect blend of coffee, selected your ideal, eco-friendly coffee maker for the home, chosen the best non-dairy milk for the coffee, and sat down for a cup of Joe, only to find yourself sleepy a half hour later. How is it possible that the very drink that so many people consume before a long and arduous workday is the very same one that puts you to sleep?

It's a confounding question for many.

Is there one main reason why consuming coffee makes you sleepy, or do experts believe there could be many culprits contributing to why a cup of coffee could lead the consumer to feel so sleepy? It's important to understand how your body reacts to caffeine, prolonged stress, and other lifestyle factors.

Continue reading below to learn about why drinking coffee can make you sleepy — and consult with a primary care physician and dietitian for a well-rounded response for your unique body.

According to a medically reviewed report in Verywell Health, one reason why you feel so sleepy after drinking coffee could be because of the levels of the chemical adenosine in your body at the time you consume your coffee. "

Adenosine levels in the body increase while you're awake, and decrease while you're asleep. Higher levels can make you feel sleepy," per Verywell Health.

While caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in the brain temporarily, as the effects of the caffeine begin to subside, you will feel sleepy once more. "This can cause a sudden boost in the effects of adenosine, which can contribute to increased feelings of fatigue," according to the report.

Because every individual's body metabolizes caffeine at different rates, you may simply be someone who metabolizes caffeine more quickly than others, leading to the pronounced impact of high adenosine levels.

Another reason as to why drinking coffee makes you sleepy comes from the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective. The TCM way of thinking holds that coffee is "hot" in nature (irrespective of whether you're drinking the coffee hot or over ice) and pushes your body too aggressively, thus taxing your system.

"Coffee isn’t so appropriate for the yin deficiency type person. Coffee for these people can make them more nervous, anxious, cause high blood pressure, make them sweat and be taxing on their adrenals," according to Dr. Maryam Mahanian, a Doctor of Chinese Medicine.

Furthermore, per Dr. Mahanian, consuming coffee can deplete the Kidney Jing, and "When coffee transforms and moves our essence Qi, we get an initial rush of energy but ultimately we lose our stored energy (our Jing)."

As the video above explains, some coffee connoisseurs consume so much coffee that they develop what's known as a tolerance to a certain level of caffeine. Thus, the body requires an increasingly greater amount of caffeinated coffee in order to achieve what they used to experience as a boost in energy or lack of sleepiness.

Ultimately, there could be underlying health issues or any of several other reasons as to why drinking coffee makes you sleepy. You should consult a primary care physician as well as a dietitian in order to receive a well-rounded assessment of your health and dietary needs, an assessment of how your lifestyle factors may be coming into play, and other factors that contribute to the consumption of coffee making you sleepy.