At least short term I suddenly lose the sensation of sleepiness and become more energized when it’s been a few hours past when I should be in bed.
I’ve always wondered why that occurs but Googling only gives me articles about the effects of sleep deprivation
In: 7
Good question. Have you tried googling the natural peaks in cortisol levels that humans experience in a day? Cortisol is a natural ‘stress hormone’ your body uses to sustain activity in times of stress – ‘good’ or ‘bad’ kinds.* Additionally, adenosine levels build up continually through the day which contribute to a feeling of sleepiness by bedtime (although this is interrupted by caffeine which is why dosing with it can keep you awake), however aside from that there are natural variances/spikes in cortisol levels as well throughout the day, and inbetween them you might feel relatively tired as well (like the mid-afternoon slump). Like I say, have a google and see if that helps at all? Your sudden energy could be a natural cortisol spike. Re: adenosine and caffeine; caffrine also stays in your system for ages (it has a ‘half-life’ of about 5hrs I think – meaning that every 5hrs it’s concentration halves in your body. 150mg in a 7am coffee can mean 18.75mg still in your system at 10pm for example).
*This may be an inaccurate over-simplification so I’m hoping someone with knowledge can explain better than me!
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