Two doctors explain three reasons why coffee makes you tired sometimes, instead of energized.

Plus, what to do about it.

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One of the main reasons why millions of people drinkcoffeeevery day is because of its energy-boosting properties.

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Rob van Dam, MD, is an adjunct professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He conducts research into the role of diet in the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases with a particular interest in Asian diets.

Having trouble getting out of bed in the morning?

Dont worry, coffee will help you move through your morning routine.

Feel your eyelids falling during a long Zoom meeting?

An image of four wine glasses on a wooden surface

A cup of coffee will jolt you awake.

Chan School of Public Health.

Ronald Chervin, MD, is a professor of neurology and sleep medicine at the University of Michigan.

Young woman mixing ice coffee

He leads the Division of Sleep Medicine at Michigan Medicine.

What gives, right?

According to doctors, there are actually a few reasons why coffee makes you tired sometimes.

Cropped shot of young woman shopping in the dairy section of a supermarket. She is reading the nutrition label on a container of fresh organic healthy natural yoghurt

Rob van Dam, MD, is an adjunct professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He conducts research into the role of diet in the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases with a particular interest in Asian diets.

Here, two experts explain exactly why this can happen and what to do about it.

Why coffee makes you tired, according to doctors:

1.

Youve built up a high tolerance.

Two cups with coffee and green tea on a beige background.

People develop some tolerance to caffeine when they regularly consume it.

That means that over time the same amount of caffeine will tend to have less effect, he says.

Ronald Chervin, MD, a professor of neurology and sleep medicine at the University of Michigan, agrees.

red pigment in a wooden spoon

This can include decaf coffee, golden milk, or herbal tea.

Youre using it as a substitute for sleep.

Take it from a sleep doc, theres no substitute for sleepincluding coffee.

Think you could fall into this bucket?

And bonus, you wont have any caffeine in your system when youre heading to bed later.

Youre drinking your coffee too late in the day.

And it certainly cant replace the need for sleep.

Theres no drink or drug in the world that can replace that.

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