Why Doesn’t Coffee Wake Me Up? Here’s 6 Reasons Why

Coffee is known to wake you up and be more alert because of the stimulant properties of caffeine in the drink. However, some people don’t seem to be affected by consuming coffee or caffeine at all, which raises the question of why coffee doesn’t wake some people up?

The most common reason why coffee might not be working on you is that you’ve had too much of it and developed a high tolerance for coffee. However, some people have specific genetic resistances towards coffee as well.

The caffeine in coffee is known to be a famous psychoactive drug.

Caffeine is one common reason people wake up and blindly head towards their coffee machines or the nearest coffee shops to grab their morning coffee.

Some people can’t function properly or get through the day without their morning coffee. It makes them more productive and awake.

Different people can have other effects and respond to coffee. This can be due to varying forms of adenosine receptors.

However, some people can go as far as drinking three cups of coffee, but it won’t work the same. It doesn’t make them alert or well-focused like others.

What Exactly Happens When You Drink Coffee?

The caffeine in the coffee has no nutritional value on its own, and the only role is to make you alert and energized.

As soon as you consume your coffee, the caffeine travels to your central nervous system. It’s a stimulant for the nervous system to make you feel less drowsy and tired.

Caffeine is widely used for various medications to treat headaches, dizziness, or even migraines.

Excessive intake of coffee may have long-term detrimental effects on your health.

How Does Coffee/Caffeine Help in Waking You Up?

It’s not the coffee that wakes you up but the caffeine in the coffee.

The caffeine binds with the adenosine receptors in your brain and increases energy levels, and acts as a stimulant to create more alertness.

Adenosine is a chemical compound in your brain responsible for the sleep-wake regulation that takes place. This adenosine connects with receptors and slows down your nerve cell activity, making you tired.

When a person consumes a cup of coffee, the caffeine binds with the adenosine receptors of the person. It does so because the nerve cell mistakes caffeine for an adenosine receptor. But, unlike an adenosine receptor, caffeine makes the nerve cell activity faster.

Due to the excessive nerve activity, the pituitary gland starts to produce adrenaline. This initiates the fight or flight response in the body.

6 Reasons Why Coffee Does Not Wake You Up

Here are a few reasons why coffee won’t wake you up as compared to other people, even if you’re consuming more cups of coffee than others

1. Caffeine Tolerance

If you’re a regular and excessive consumer of coffee, then it is pretty likely for you to have developed a tolerance for coffee.

This means that your body is now producing more adenosine receptors, and you will have to increase your coffee intake to achieve your desired boost of energy.

It is to be noted that caffeine tolerance is one of the most common reasons coffee doesn’t wake you up anymore.

2. Caffeine Metabolizer

It means that the active ingredients in coffee, such as caffeine, are not affected or sensitive to certain people.

Different people have different fluctuations of the enzyme that is metabolized in caffeine.

It greatly depends on your genetic traits whether you are sensitive to the ingredient or not.

3. Too Much Sugar in Your Coffee

Too much sugar in your coffee in the form of extra whipped creams coffee syrups can cause a sugar crash in your system.

A sugar crash causes a spike of sugar in your blood flow. This is used up and metabolized fast, making you feel sleepy and tired.

4. Dehydration

If you’re drinking more coffee than water in your daily routine, then you are likely to be dehydrated.

Coffee is a diuretic. It means it causes an increase in urination and creates a loss of fluid in your body.

5. Too Tired For Even Coffee to Work

Sometimes staying up late for too long, overtime work, pulling an all-nighter makes you highly exhausted. Your body reaches a threshold limit, and it can no more make you energized and require you to rest and nap.

The adenosine chemicals rise throughout the day, but once it reaches the receptors, it makes you sleepy, and sometimes, when your body requires sleep, even caffeine cannot over compete.

6. Switching to Different Coffee Beans 

If you switch to a new coffee brand or a new technique for brewing your coffee, it might not give the same effect anymore.

A significant reason for this is that some coffee beans have lower caffeine. For example, Arabica beans have lower caffeine than the Robusta beans, which have a high caffeine amount.

A Few Tips To Wake You Up From Coffee

Here are a few hacks to add the extra boost to your coffee to make you more alert and energized

• Add protein powder to your coffee
• Take a nap right after your coffee cup to receive optimal energy
• Time your coffee cups, especially in the P.M

Takeaway

Even though coffee is a stimulant to increase alertness and energy levels, some people don’t seem to have the same effects.

The reason why coffee can’t wake you up is mostly that your body has become used to coffee and has developed a tolerance for caffeine. Unfortunately, this means you will have to increase your caffeine intake to achieve the same results.

Other reasons include genetics, some coffee beans, sugar levels in your cup, and dehydration.