Eli5 why can’t we continuously take caffeine and never sleep?

991 views

I work overnight shifts (11pm-7am) and take caffeine pills to stay awake. When I get home, even if I take more caffeine I’m sometimes still too tired and fall asleep. Why does it eventually stop working? Is there some sort of chemical limit? Why can’t caffeine replace sleep for longer periods of time (like days on end)?

In: 595

35 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Caffeine basically blocks the receptors that tell you that you need to sleep

When you actually sleep, a lot of things happen including your brain being washed. Fluid comes in and washes the old fluid out. This is a very simple explanation and it’s far more detailed

Your muscles also relax and helps in repairing them

This is something caffeine cannot reproduce

You are viewing 1 out of 35 answers, click here to view all answers.