Cutoff tool

When should I stop
drinking coffee?

Enter your bedtime and see the cutoff time that leaves your body clear enough to sleep well.

The cutoff

When should you stop?

Tell us your bedtime and see the latest time for coffee.

Assumes a 5-6 hour half-life. Sensitive sleepers should stop even earlier.

How it works

Because caffeine has a 5-6 hour half-life, the rule of thumb is to stop about 8-10 hours before bed. This page works the math backwards from your bedtime, so you get a clear number instead of a guess.

The calculator uses two marks: a standard cutoff (about 8 hours before bed) and a safer one (about 10 hours) for sensitive sleepers. If you sleep at 23:00, that lands your last coffee around 15:00, or 13:00 if you want more margin.

A morning coffee is usually fine — it is mostly gone by night. The cutoff mostly matters for afternoon and evening caffeine.

For the full picture, combine this with the half-life calculator, which shows how much caffeine is still present at bedtime.

Questions people actually ask

When should I stop drinking coffee for good sleep?

About 8-10 hours before bed. Bedtime 23:00 means a cutoff around 13:00-15:00.

Does an afternoon coffee affect sleep?

Yes. Because the half-life is 5-6 hours, a 4 pm coffee still leaves meaningful caffeine near bedtime.

What if I'm sensitive to caffeine?

Move your cutoff earlier and switch to decaf or herbal tea after it.

Can I have one cup in the morning?

Usually fine. Morning caffeine is mostly gone by night for most people.

What about decaf at night?

Decaf has 2-15 mg per cup. Most sleepers are fine; very sensitive ones may want to avoid it late.

Related tools