One of the most exciting parts of the Holiday season? The RED cups!

If you’re asking me, there are 4 essential components to survival here on Earth. Food, water, air and coffee. Pretty much everything about coffee makes me swoon! The bold aroma, the warm cozy feeling as it enters your tummy, the sips you take while reading an intriguing novel curled up in your favorite chair. For me, coffee is pretty much a lifestyle. When I wake up in the morning, one of the first things I do (right after I sneak out of bed like a silent assassin trying not to awaken the twins), is pop a K-cup in my Keurig and wait for the magic.

Funny thing is, I never really pay attention to how much of an impact coffee has on my life…until I’m deprived of it. Sometimes my mornings are so crazy!  I end up driving to work and ask myself why are my eyes feeling so heavy…and then immediately realize – I missed my morning Starbucks House blend! Yikes.

This seriously got me thinking.

How much does caffeine really affect our sleeping habits? Caffeine is a stimulant, and can temporarily make us feel more alert by blocking sleep-inducing chemicals in our brain. It also increases our levels of adrenaline. When consumed, caffeine takes about 6 hours for half of it to leave our body.  So this is why we often feel its effects for longer than we think! Studies show that caffeine consumed 0-6 hours before sleeping, greatly lowers total sleep time and can further reduce the quality of sleep. This is because the amount of time spent in deep, restorative zombie like sleep is reduced.

What my morning looks like! Daily.

Now this doesn’t mean caffeine consumption is a no-no.

Research shows that coffee may play a part in preventing diseases like strokes and certain cancers. Not to mention the fact that most of us would not be able to give up its goodness anyway, even if we tried! Here are some tips to keep the madness under control.

Despite that urge to pull into the nearest Starbucks right after work, try and do all of your coffee consumption before 2pm. That way your body will have time to rid itself of most of the caffeine before hitting the hay.

I’ve actually started making my OWN Chai Tea Latte’s at home!

Another tip is to taper off the strength of caffeine you consume as the day progresses. Start your day off with your Americano, and have your Iced Chai Tea Latte with lunch. That way you aren’t packed with a punch that lasts longer than you’d like.

Finally, bigger isn’t always best! Instead of going for the largest size, start by ordering a smaller sized beverage and see if it satisfies you first. I find that when I order the largest size, I barely finish it anyway. But it just looks so tempting!

I like to live by the motto: everything in moderation. Coffee is definitely no exception to the rule!

Cheers! Jenna Kagawa is a Bedding Specialist at SlumberWorld in Kailua Kona. She is the happy mother of twins, Hali’a and Makoa. When not busy finding clients the perfect mattress or chasing her little ones – Jenna enjoys making jewelry, reading, shell collecting, and eating really good food! She is a total social media addict and loves photographing life.