Six hours before bed is the optimal time to cut off caffeine, or 4pm for those who try to sleep at 10pm.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says these effects should ease within four to six hours.

But some papers — including one from 2013 — suggest you may need to cut off the drug even earlier to ensure a good night's sleep.

Dr Dierdre Conroy, a sleep expert at Michigan University, recommends stopping drinking coffee eight hours before bed.

For those with a 10pm bedtime, that means no coffee after 2pm.

She said: 'People have very different sensitivities to caffeine and people who consume caffeine more often might respond differently to those who don't drink it at all.

'But in general, our guideline is eight hours before going to bed, you should eliminate all caffeinated products.'

A meta-analysis from 2017 found drinking coffee too late in the evening disrupts slow-wave sleep — the most restful period — and reduces total sleep time.

Not getting enough sleep has been linked to a whole host of health issues including heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone gets eight hours of sleep a night, but polls suggest one in three adults don't make this threshold.

During a business meeting

Some experts also suggest drinking coffee during a business meeting can boost alertness and engagement in the subject.

Few studies have looked into this, but a 2018 study involving 134 students found those who drunk coffee together just before a meeting on a protest movement rated themselves as being more alert and were more willing to do the meeting again.

They were compared against a similar-sized group who only drunk decaffinated coffee before a meeting.

Scientists suggested this showed that coffee was having the greatest benefit during a meeting, while others point to this time due to evidence that the best time to have a cup is from 9.30am — when many meetings take place.

There are also signs that drinking coffee over a meeting leads to an improved relationship between participants, making it more productive.

Polls have shown that more than two thirds of professionals prefer to meet in-person over a coffee, rather than through other methods such as virtually.

Some suggest — however — that people should avoid having a coffee before giving an important presentation.

Levels of adrenaline — the 'fight or flight' hormone — are already high just beforehand, with coffee only raising those levels further.

LinkedIn experts say, therefore, that coffee may be the 'least useful thing' to have before a meeting.

Nashville-based technology enterpreneur Jason Baxter said: 'I feel very passionate about relationships and feel strongly that a great starting point can be had over a good cup of coffee.'

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Some things can never be unsaid, so don’t say them in the first place.
If it were not for British news sources, I would never know what was really going on here in the States.

The Christmas coffees that'll give you a gut like Santa's: Festive drinks at Dunkin' and Starbucks contain up to 1,200 calories and 14 TIMES more sugar than a donut

They are meant to be a treat around Christmas time, but some festive coffees definitely deserve to be on the naughty list.

DailyMail.com considered festive holiday drinks from the largest coffee sellers in the US, including Dunkin', Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Peet's, Pret a Manger, and McDonald's

The worst offender is the Peppermint Mocha Swirl Frozen Coffee with cream from Dunkin’. A large serving packs a whopping 1,170 calories, about half of the entire recommended daily allowance for adults.

It also contains 40 grams of fat and 182 total grams of sugar, about four and 14 times the amount in a glazed donut, respectively. Krispy Kreme's autumnal Frozen Pumpkin Spice Latte on the menu packs the second-worst punch.

The nutritional information resembles a sundae more than a coffee. A 20-ounce serving contains 680 calories, 22 grams of fat, and a staggering 101 grams of sugar. Compare that to a regular size McDonald's McFlurry ice cream with Oreos, which packs 510 calories, 16 grams of fat, and a more modest 60 grams of sugar.

The sky-high sugar content in these drinks is a far cry from the maximum amount that experts say is healthy to consume on a daily basis.

The American Heart Association advises men to consume no more than nine teaspoons or 36 grams of added sugar per day. Women should stick to no more than six teaspoons or 25 grams per day.

Sugary drinks are also key drivers of hypertension and diabetes. Regular consumers of sugary drinks are at markedly higher risk – 26 per cent, in fact – of developing type 2 diabetes compared to people who rarely have them.

Joan Salge Blake, a nutrition professor at Boston University told DailyMail.com: ‘Many of these designer coffees are loaded with added sugars and saturated fat so [they] resemble a dessert, not a coffee.’

Most holiday beverages from major coffee purveyors were considerably less caloric than Dunkin’s frozen concoction. But each contains hundreds of empty calories and eye-popping sugar content.

Pret a Manger’s Caramel Apple Crisp Hot Chocolate packs 510 calories, seven grams of fat, and 79 grams of sugar, more than double the amount in the blueberry muffin on the menu.

A large, or venti, Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks contains 550 calories and 19 grams of fat. It also packs 88 grams of sugar.

_________________
Some things can never be unsaid, so don’t say them in the first place.
If it were not for British news sources, I would never know what was really going on here in the States.

But coffee can be healthy!
Scientific studies into the health effects of coffee are being done all the time and have, in the past, claimed the drink brings fairly big health benefits.

Reduces early death risk

Research by the National Cancer Institute in the US last year found people who drink six or seven cups of coffee each day were 16 per cent less likely to die from disease within a 10-year period than those who didn't.

Less likely to get depression

Another study, done by the Harvard School of Public Health, found that women who drank four or more cups of coffee per day were 20 per cent less likely to suffer from depression.

Women have higher pain threshold

British scientists at Goldsmiths, University of London, found women who drank coffee – 250mg of caffeine, to be precise – tended to have a higher pain threshold than those who didn't.

Lower type 2 diabetes

The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee last year said it had trawled through nearly 30 studies of almost 1.2million people to find drinking three or four cups of coffee each day could slash the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 27 per cent.

Many people are willing to turn a blind eye to their drinks’ staggering health stats. Holidays are not conducive to dieting and it can be tricky to maintain healthy eating habits when treats are ubiquitous.

Sugary drinks are major drivers of weight gain because they are extremely dense in empty calories that don’t fill you up sufficiently and lack nutritional benefits.

The more ounces of sugar-sweetened beverages a person has, the more calories they’re likely to take in later in the day.

Sweet beverages like Starbuck’s peppermint mocha can also stimulate the appetite for other sugary, high-carbohydrate foods.

Excessive sugar intake is also linked to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, tooth decay and cavities, cognitive problems, hypertension, kidney disease, liver disease, and pancreatic cancer.

A 2009 study of nearly 89,000 women found those who drank more than two servings of a sugary beverage each day had a 40 per cent higher risk of heart attacks or death from heart disease.

But the drinks aren’t all bad. With some slight alterations to the added sweeteners and the type of dairy used, they can become slightly more nutritious.

Coffee itself contains almost no calories. And it also comes with myriad health benefits including increased longevity. Coffee contains natural antioxidants that help bolster the body’s ability to fight off infection.

It has also been proven to help ward off heart failure, with drinkers of two cups showing a 30 per cent decreased risk of experiencing a cardiac event.

Regular and decaf coffee also have a protective effect on the liver. People who drink coffee are also less likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s, research suggests.

Professor Salge Blake said: ‘Plain coffee does provide antioxidants and is the beverage of choice for many early risers.

'When you add skim or low fat daily milk to plain coffee, you will get calcium, vitamin D, and potassium, three nutrients that many Americans are falling short of in their diets. However, I would treat these designer coffees as dessert and keep them to small amounts.'

Eliminating festive holiday drinks altogether is not necessary. Like every unhealthy food such as sweets and chips, moderation is key.

There are also ways to shave some of the extra calories and sugars from your favorite drinks. Boston-based nutritionist Lainey Younkin recommends choosing a dairy product with lots of protein, ‘like cow's milk, with 8 grams of protein per cup, or soy milk, with 6 grams of protein per cup.’

‘Protein helps slow the spike of blood sugar and keep you full longer. It's difficult for most people to get enough protein at breakfast so choosing a latte over black coffee could help you reach your morning protein goals,’ she added.

While it sounds counterintuitive, Younkin recommends ordering two per cent milk rather than non-fat milk, noting that fat moves slowly through the digestive tract and, when combined with the protein in the milk, will keep you full longer and prevent carb cravings later on. Finally, opt for sugar-free syrup or a smaller amount of regular syrup.

‘Slashing some of the syrups and choosing a milk with protein and a little fat will health-ify your holiday bevies so you can have your mocha and your holiday cookies too!’ Ms Younkin said.

_________________
Some things can never be unsaid, so don’t say them in the first place.
If it were not for British news sources, I would never know what was really going on here in the States.

Мне спать помогает настойка валерьянки. Именно настойка, травки заваривала уже не такое действие.
От хат флашес помогает FENUGREEK. Я уже на предменапаузе собаку съела, что только не перепробовала. А реально только эта травка хорошо, таблеточка в день и намного легче.

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Под самым красивым хвостом павлина скрывается самая обычная куриная жопа. Так что меньше пафоса, господа.
Ф. Раневская

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Ноги дурные совсем
Голове нет покоя от них
Наступают на грабли

как начинающий садовник
поклонник хайку и басё
поставь в саду на камень камень
и всё

- Муж без жены как дерево без дятла. (китайская народная мудрость)

Что-то я очень быстро лежу…