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Coffee for insomnia and restless legs, why ?

Irat

Senior Member
Messages
288
So the last 2 weeks i could not sleep at all and dealing with severe restless legs again,which drives me insane.

One Night around 2 o Clock i just felt like having breakfast already .i have food and drug intolerances,but i can tolerate one cup of coffee in the mornung .

So after having the coffee in the middle of the night,i could fall asleep deeply and the Restless legs stopped completely.I have done this 3 times in the last 2 weeks and i can sleep like a baby with the coffee

All i could find about this phenomenon is the dopamin release , paradox effects on an ADHD brain and that elderly drink coffee for sleep for some reasons.or it's just me reacting paradox to everything.

Anyone else with this experience

Well,of course I don t want to become dependant on coffee for sleep ,but in severe insomnia phases good to know it helps
 
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nerd

Senior Member
Messages
863
Espresso seems to help against headache, that's the only benefit I noticed. It doesn't make me more awake though. This typical effect of caffeine that my brain function seems to be boosted by it, has stopped since my early adult years. Melatonin seems to help me sleep deeper and caffeine basically blocks that, so it seems paradoxical when it comes to sleep. But does it for restless legs? You already found good reasons; dopamine, and the inverted effects from drugs with ADHD.

My obvious question would be: Have you tried decaffeinated coffee? If it's not the caffeine but something else in the coffee, you might sleep even better when your melatonin isn't blocked.
 

Irat

Senior Member
Messages
288
Espresso seems to help against headache, that's the only benefit I noticed. It doesn't make me more awake though. This typical effect of caffeine that my brain function seems to be boosted by it, has stopped since my early adult years. Melatonin seems to help me sleep deeper and caffeine basically blocks that, so it seems paradoxical when it comes to sleep. But does it for restless legs? You already found good reasons; dopamine, and the inverted effects from drugs with ADHD.

My obvious question would be: Have you tried decaffeinated coffee? If it's not the caffeine but something else in the coffee, you might sleep even better when your melatonin isn't blocked.
I think that it stops the restless leg symptoms is due to the release of dopamin.in the morning I feel that the coffee resets my brain....but to be clear,I do not think that coffee at all is a good idea with chronic illness,but risking withdrawal in my situation would be even worse.....so i m trying not using it at night of course and only having one cup in the morning,but was just wondering why it helped like a sleeping pill in my case.
 

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,461
Location
Great Lakes
I have also noticed this and mentioned it sometimes in previous posts.

Coffee caffeine calms me and helps me to sleep.

I also suspect ADHD but think stronger stimulants would burn me out as things that "rev" up my metabolism always seem to lead to a crash--even natural things like tyrosine.
 

Irat

Senior Member
Messages
288
I have also noticed this and mentioned it sometimes in previous posts.

Coffee caffeine calms me and helps me to sleep.

I also suspect ADHD but think stronger stimulants would burn me out as things that "rev" up my metabolism always seem to lead to a crash--even natural things like tyrosine.
Yes,not a good idea,,,tyrosine,ginseng etc,all this stuff burns me out too...strange with the calming coffee effect.....its 12 o clock night time here and I'm still awake,this insomnia is killing me right now,but I do not want to get used to having a coffee for sleep...
 

nerd

Senior Member
Messages
863
I tried a double shot of espresso this evening and can't sleep at all, despite 2g of Melatonin. I think it's the glutamate that causes issues. My brain is completely hyperactive like it should be during the day.
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,249
dealing with severe restless legs again,which drives me insane.

my husband has it pretty bad, he can't walk much, is hobbled with joints, canes bad everything there.

At 75, he snores thru half the day or evening, and then its up at 4:30 am half the time.

coffee?

I get it in my chair late some evenings, it means my muscles demand I go to bed where it stops.
 
Messages
312
Location
USA
So after having the coffee in the middle of the night,i could fall asleep deeply and the Restless legs stopped completely.I have done this 3 times in the last 2 weeks and i can sleep like a baby with the coffee

Anyone else with this experience

Yes, I've experienced this quite a bit too, and used to drink caffeinated drinks in the middle of the night, and then I was able to sleep. I haven't tried it lately. Until now, I'd never heard of anyone else experiencing this.
 

hapl808

Senior Member
Messages
2,052
Interesting. I had a splitting headache last night and instead of taking ibuprofen and maybe a bit of caffeinated tea, I had an extremely strong caffeinated tea and no ibuprofen. Seemed to help my headache and I slept pretty easily. Normally a tea that strong would keep me up all night, but I thought to try it because of this thread. Not sure the mechanism, but interesting effect.
 

Irat

Senior Member
Messages
288
Interesting. I had a splitting headache last night and instead of taking ibuprofen and maybe a bit of caffeinated tea, I had an extremely strong caffeinated tea and no ibuprofen. Seemed to help my headache and I slept pretty easily. Normally a tea that strong would keep me up all night, but I thought to try it because of this thread. Not sure the mechanism, but interesting effect.
Strange isnt it.........oh why it helped your headaches is that
During a headache, blood vessels swell, tighten or go through other changes, causing an increase in blood flow around the brain. This increase blood flow pressures surrounding nerves, which send pain messages to the brain. This brings on the headache.Caffeine has vasoconstrictive properties, meaning that blood vessels narrow to restrict blood flow, thereby alleviating the pain....but guess you know that
 

hapl808

Senior Member
Messages
2,052
Yeah, that's why I normally take caffeine and ibuprofen, but I hate taking ibuprofen, and I find that having too much caffeine too regularly also makes migraines more frequent. It's tough because caffeine can be both the cure and the cause.

Usually caffeine on its own isn't enough, but I think I often do a lower caffeine level especially if I'm not taking it with ibuprofen. I also think somehow the caffeine dose had more of an effect at night than it usually does during the day, but I'm not sure about that.

I'm trying to do a reset and stopping all supplements for a bit, then will start over. The acid reflux and headaches and constant PEM triggers are frustrating.
 

Irat

Senior Member
Messages
288
Yeah, that's why I normally take caffeine and ibuprofen, but I hate taking ibuprofen, and I find that having too much caffeine too regularly also makes migraines more frequent. It's tough because caffeine can be both the cure and the cause.

Usually caffeine on its own isn't enough, but I think I often do a lower caffeine level especially if I'm not taking it with ibuprofen. I also think somehow the caffeine dose had more of an effect at night than it usually does during the day, but I'm not sure about that.

I'm trying to do a reset and stopping all supplements for a bit, then will start over. The acid reflux and headaches and constant PEM triggers are frustrating.
The crushing headaches are so awful....and I can t take any pain meds...someone told me to eat water melon and fresh lemon water for headaches,you might can try this..but I can t remember why it should help.
 
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Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,249
omeone told me to eat water melon and fresh lemon water for headaches,you might can try this..but I can t remember why it should help.

water melon is particularly energetically cooling, especially the less sweet rind parts. Try to eat more of that part. Its a special food in that regard. Blood cleansing, inflammation reducing.
 

hapl808

Senior Member
Messages
2,052
Watermelon never really agrees with me. When I have seen TCM doctors in the past, I'm usually advised to avoid cooling foods, raw foods, etc. Maybe that has something to do with it. Haven't tried lemon water specifically for headaches, but I've had it before and it seems fine in general.
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,249
When I have seen TCM doctors in the past, I'm usually advised to avoid cooling foods, raw foods, etc. Maybe that has something to do with it. Haven't tried lemon water specifically for headaches, but I've had it before and it seems fine in general.

I am to avoid raw foods, also.

Mostly I am to eat warm, oily smooth food.

Ditching salads was the BEST THING I ever did for myself.

Water melon is different, for me at least.

I"m not supposed to take this Berberine, as its too cold.
 

junkcrap50

Senior Member
Messages
1,330
Reminds me of the "Hangover Effect" where people feel relief from ADD, anxiety, depression, etc. and feel energized / normal as a result of a hangover. I think it's thought to also be related to dopamine somehow. But all these paradoxical reactions and those that seem to come up in ME/CFS sure are weird.
 
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