It’s true, we all rarely have just one cup of coffee a day, and I’m sure many of you are much the same. How long does a coffee take to flush out of your system, and how much does this glorious bean affect our internal chemistry?
Once ingested caffeine takes about 15-45 minutes until the coffee is processed In your gut, and the caffeine absorbed and transported to your liver. Here it is broken down into caffeine metabolites, and it is these molecules that provide the energy, and alertness usually associated with its consumption.
A usual shot of coffee or espresso contains around 50 mg of caffeine. Many experiments have sought to assess the half-life of caffeine (how long it takes half of the molecules to break down in your system).
Its Widely accepts that 6-8 hours is the average half-life of caffeine for a 50 mg serving, which means your morning 9 am coffee's effects are still taking effect till about 2 or 3 pm. Now, this can vary from person to person, as it is dictated by enzymes found in your liver, and the amount you produce is all down to your genetics. So now you can either thank or curse your parents for your coffee processing power!
For those of us who enjoy more than just one cup, it’s an even 3 times longer wait to you can go into sleep mode. Consuming 4 coffees a day increases the internal caffeine concentration to 200 mg, yet to feel caffeine’s affects you need as little as 25 mg.
If you’ve only just started venturing into coffee your tolerance level will be a lot lower than a coffee veteran. Yet it works the same as any other drug, the more regularly you consume the more you will require to feel the effects. At this point it is vital to remember to high a caffeine dose can be fatal, just some food for thought, don’t have a twelfth.
Maybe try having decaffeinated coffee if you’re feeling like its beginning to affect sleep, or for you grizzled vets, every 2nd coffee swapping it out for decaf is a viable way to get the best of both worlds, guzzling the coffee but still be able to actually close your eyes!
The long and short of it really comes down to you and your body. Only you know how you react to caffeine and how long its effects last in you.
If you don’t like the fact that caffeine hits you harder than 5 pack of red bull, or if you don't feel the effects due to your hardened genetics, you can all go blame your parents, well in part! Knowing this you can begin to understand the internal battle your body is having. Dealing with the abnormal amounts of caffeine coursing through your veins, after you slam back your fifth at 1 pm in the afternoon, it’s going to be a long day!