Caffeine’s stimulating effects last far longer than most people realize. In this segment, Dr. Logan Pendergrast, Ph.D., explains how caffeine is processed in the body and why its duration varies from person to person. Factors like age, genetics, liver enzymes, and even smoking habits can all influence how quickly caffeine is cleared from the system. While some individuals metabolize it in just a few hours, full elimination can take up to 24 hours. Understanding these differences helps explain why caffeine timing is so critical for quality sleep and recovery.
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know what caffeine does in the body, we
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can start to think about how long it
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actually lasts once we consume it. So
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once caffeine is consumed, it can take
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hours to leave the system. This can be
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anywhere from 3 to 7 hours depending on
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multiple factors such as our age, our
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genetics, even some of the enzymes that
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are in our liver, and our use of other
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medications. And so what this means is
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that full elimination of consumed
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caffeine can take about 24 hours. And an
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interesting fact here talking about
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consumption of caffeine with other
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factors is smoking. And what we see is
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that smokers actually metabolize
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caffeine more quickly than other
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non-smokers.
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And what metabolize more quickly means
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is that they clear caffeine out of their
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system more quickly. And of course, this
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can be an advantage when it comes to
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wanting to get caffeine out of our
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system before we sleep, but it also can
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reduce the beneficial effects of
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caffeine that we're looking to have when
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we consume our cup of coffee upon
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waking.
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So,
