Could decaf coffee keep me awake?

[TheOtherBennetSister]

I don't process caffeine very well. A cup of tea after about 2pm can keep me awake that night.

Last night at about 9pm I made myself a decaf coffee - made with decaf ground coffee in an espresso machine. I lay awake unable to sleep until gone 2. Coincidence? I often struggle to drop off so it might be.

Or residual caffeine from my morning coffee still in the machine?

Or decaf isn't really decaf?

I drink decaf tea and it still makes me wee like normal tea, so I can’t see the difference !

I'm not sure if this is right, but I suspect that decaf coffee isn't fully decaffeinated. If you're that sensitive that you can't drink it after 2pm perhaps even the tiniest trace of it will keep you awake.

Decaffeinated doesn’t mean it’s absolutely caffeine free, just that it’s had most of the caffeine removed. I can’t process caffeine well either - it gives me horrendous migraines - but I’m ok with decaf. I suppose it depends exactly how sensitive you are. Could there have been something on your mind?

I just googled it & it can take at least 12 hours for caffeine to fully leave your system. Maybe keep it for first thing in the morning only.

And yes, check to make sure the machine is properly clean if you’re using it for both types.

I guess there's also the possibility that the taste of coffee tells your brain to get ready for incoming caffeine, and even if there was barely any caffeine in the drink, your brain was able to produce some of the effect it was expecting from the caffeine it thought it was getting?

Decaf coffee isn’t caffeine free, the decaffeinating process can’t remove 100%. I would try something like barley cup (I think you can get it from Holland and Barrett) for a completely caffeine free coffee-like drink

I like the idea of my idiot brain expecting caffeine and staying awake anyway out of habit!

I usually have a herbal tea in the evening. I like Pukka best but they're so expensive. I get the supermarket own version of whatever the 'relax' or 'sleep' flavour is. Perhaps I'd be better off sticking to that.