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Last-coffee calculator
When should I stop drinking coffee?
For an 11 pm bedtime, finish a regular coffee by about 5:30 pm, a two-shot latte by 3:15 pm and a 200 mg energy drink before noon. Bigger drinks need longer. Pick yours to see your own cutoff.
Last one by
5:30 PM
Finish your drip coffee (95 mg) by 5:30 PM to have under 50 mg left at your 11:00 PM bedtime. That's 5.4 hours before bed.
Under 50 mg at bedtime, about half a cup of coffee, is the line sleep studies point to. One drink on its own: earlier caffeine moves it sooner, and the caffeine calculator adds drinks up.
Cutoffs for common drinks, 11:00 PM bedtime
| Drink | Last one by |
|---|---|
| Espresso · 63 mg | 8:45 PM |
| Matcha · 70 mg | 8:00 PM |
| Energy drink, 250 ml · 80 mg | 7:00 PM |
| Drip coffee · 95 mg | 5:30 PM |
| Latte, two shots · 126 mg | 3:15 PM |
| Cold brew · 155 mg | 1:45 PM |
| Large drip coffee · 190 mg | 12:00 PM |
| Celsius, 355 ml · 200 mg | 11:45 AM |
| Costa flat white · 241 mg | 10:15 AM |
| Starbucks Pike Place, Grande · 310 mg | 8:15 AM |
Changes with your bedtime and how caffeine hits you, above. Rounded down to the quarter hour.
Why the cutoff depends on the drink
Caffeine wears off by halves. For most adults, about half of it is gone every 5 to 6 hours, so the more you start with, the longer it takes to get under 50 mg. A 63 mg espresso gets there about 2 hours after you drink it. A 310 mg Starbucks Grande needs nearly 15.
Why yours might be earlier
Some people clear caffeine faster or slower. Smoking speeds it up. The contraceptive pill roughly doubles the half-life, and in late pregnancy it can reach 10 to 15 hours. If coffee keeps you up more than it does your friends, choose Hits me hard above. Read more in why coffee hits some people harder.
Questions, answered
What time should I stop drinking coffee?
For most people with an 11 pm bedtime, by about 5:30 pm for a regular 95 mg cup, 3:15 pm for a two-shot latte and around 1:45 pm for a cold brew. The rule is to finish early enough that under 50 mg is left at bedtime. Pick your drink and bedtime above for your own time.
How many hours before bed should I stop caffeine?
About 5 to 6 hours for a regular cup of coffee, 7 to 8 hours for a two-shot latte, and 11 hours or more for a 200 mg energy drink, for a typical 5.5-hour half-life. If caffeine hits you hard, you're on the pill or you're pregnant, it's longer.
Is 2 pm too late for coffee?
Not for one regular cup: 95 mg at 2 pm leaves about 32 mg at 11 pm. A large drink is different: a Starbucks Grande Pike Place at 2 pm still leaves about 103 mg. See the numbers for 2, 3 and 4 pm.
Does decaf count?
Barely. A cup of decaf has about 2 to 15 mg, so it fits any time, even right before bed.
Why 50 mg?
Sleep studies find less deep sleep with moderate caffeine in the evening, even in people who fall asleep fine. Staying under about 50 mg at lights-out, half a cup of coffee, is a sensible line, and it's the one the Caffeine vs Water app uses.
Let the app keep count.
Caffeine vs Water does this all day: every drink added up, your usual coffee counted for you, and a heads-up before the one that would cost you sleep. For iPhone and Apple Watch, free in beta.
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