Drinking tea is something that lots of people like to do. You might be someone who enjoys having a nice hot cup of tea in the morning, but many people choose to drink tea throughout the day.
Have you noticed that black tea sometimes makes you sleepy after you drink it? Many people say that black tea makes them sleepy, but most aren’t sure exactly why that is.
Is there a specific reason why black tea makes you sleepy? Well, there are quite a few potential reasons why you might feel sleepy after drinking a hot cup of black tea.
Read on to dig into this topic further so that you can understand why black tea might make some people feel sleepy. Once you understand what aspects of drinking black tea can make a person tired, you’ll be able to consider why it has that impact on your body.
Why Would Tea Make You Tired When It Contains Caffeine?
While it’s true that tea contains caffeine, there’s a lot to consider when you’re talking about drinking tea. That black tea that you’re drinking does contain caffeine, but there’s a lot less caffeine in tea than there is in coffee.
You’ll also find that energy drinks and various sodas contain a lot more caffeine than tea. This doesn’t mean that the caffeine in tea can’t make you more alert, but it might be less likely to keep you awake when compared to other well-known sources of caffeine.
It’s also crucial to take into consideration that everyone has different caffeine tolerance levels. Do you have friends who seem to drink coffee all day long?
Many people know someone who is an avid coffee drinker and seems to drink coffee even if it’s just hours before bedtime. These people can sometimes go right to sleep without having any problems, too.
That seems weird since caffeine is supposed to keep you up, but if you drink caffeine all the time, then you’re going to build up a tolerance to its effects. Caffeine is more potent if you don’t drink it often, and that means that regular tea drinkers will grow resistant to the effects of the caffeine.
If you find yourself getting tired after drinking a cup of tea, then you aren’t alone. The caffeine likely isn’t working on you as well as it would someone who hardly ever drinks tea.
Tea Seems to Have a Calming Effect
It’s also notable that tea seems to have a calming effect on people. Many people who drink tea note that they feel significantly more relaxed.
Tea drinks have been shown to lower blood pressure, and this might put you in the right state to drift off to sleep. If you’re feeling nice and relaxed, then it’s going to be substantially easier to go to sleep.
Sometimes it’s as simple as relaxing and starting to feel tired because you’re so relaxed. It isn’t too different from any other activity that might relax you.
There might not be a biological reason for you feeling tired other than the fact that you’re relaxed and your blood pressure is a little bit lower. Whatever the case may be, drinking black tea does seem to help many people get good sleep.
The Warmth Might Contribute to Your Tiredness
Have you ever heard of people drinking a nice warm glass of milk to help them sleep? Whether you think that sounds refreshing or gross is irrelevant, but you should know that warm drinks are very soothing.
When you drink something nice and warm, it’s going to put you in a very relaxed state. Your body will feel more relaxed, and you might even start to get a bit tired.
If you’re used to the caffeine in the tea, then it’s not too unusual for you to want to take a nap after having some. Many people get sleepy after enjoying a hot cup of black tea, and some use it to their advantage.
You could brew yourself some black tea whenever you feel like you need some rest. If you’re restless, then having some tea might do the trick to make you get a good night’s rest.
Caffeine Overload
The body can only take so much caffeine in one sitting. If you drink a lot of caffeine, then you might cause your body to want to crash.
For example, you could sit down to drink a lot of tea at once and see what happens. If you drink five cups of tea in a short period of time, then you’re likely going to get tired due to the caffeine overload.
Too much of a good thing can wind up making you overly sleepy. Sometimes people notice that this happens to them when they drink too much coffee as well.
People who have very little caffeine tolerance will be more likely to crash from consuming too much caffeine in one sitting. If you’re someone who rarely ever drinks tea, then three cups of black tea might make you feel like you need to hibernate.
It all comes down to your own tolerance levels, but this is something that can happen to just about anyone. If you regularly drink many cups of tea in one sitting, then caffeine overload might not be to blame.
Any Type of Tea Might Make You Feel Sleepy
You might not know this, but the type of tea that you’re drinking isn’t necessarily going to matter when it comes to making you sleep. Any type of tea has the potential to make you feel sleepy.
Some people specifically talk about black tea making them sleepy, but other types of tea can have the same effects on people. For example, chamomile tea is one of the most popular types of tea that people turn to when they wish to sleep, and it’s an herbal tea with no caffeine.
Certain types of tea might be better for making you feel sleepy than others, but all tea has the potential to make people feel tired. It isn’t necessarily a unique facet of black tea.
It’s really just the relaxing nature of drinking tea and the fact that you’re drinking something so hot. Drinking tea is so soothing that it’s going to put you in the right state to want to take a nap.
You might notice that you won’t always feel sleepy after you drink tea, too. Sometimes this happens to people, but other times, they might feel perfectly fine.
It could be that you didn’t drink enough tea to feel sleepy, or something else in your system might be keeping you alert. The important thing to take away from this is that whatever type of tea you drink might make you tired sometimes.
Tea Is Great for Sleeping and Relaxing
No matter what, tea is something that is great for relaxing. You can brew some tea for yourself when you’re feeling sleepy and it’ll likely be easier to go to bed.
This might not be the case if you have no caffeine tolerance since you might be more alert due to the caffeine. However, there are teas out there that don’t contain caffeine that will help you to sleep even better.
Just enjoy your tea and know that you aren’t alone if you often get sleepy after drinking it. Many people consider it to be a benefit rather than a setback.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Film/Video/Media Studies, as well as an associates degree in Communications. I began producing videos and musical recordings nearly 15 years ago. I am a guitarist and bassist in Southwest MI and have been in a few different bands since 2009, and in 2012 I began building custom guitars and basses in my home workshop as well. When I’m home, I love spending time with my three pets (a dog, cat, and snake) and gardening in my backyard.