The latest time to drink 30 popular drinks before bed

How the times are calculated

Each time comes from the same model as our cutoff calculator: caffeine takes about 45 minutes to reach its peak, then halves every 3 hours (fast metabolism), 5 hours (average) or 8 hours (slow). The latest time is the moment after which more than the threshold amount would still be in your body at bedtime. Drinks that start below the threshold get no cutoff, but caffeine from several drinks adds up.

Where the thresholds come from

A 2023 meta-analysis (Gardiner et al.) gave two dose-specific cutoffs: a cup of coffee (107 mg) at least 8.8 hours before bed and a pre-workout serving (217.5 mg) at least 13.2 hours before. Run through the model, both leave almost the same amount at bedtime with an average half-life:

So the 2023 cutoffs imply roughly 33 mg at bedtime. A 2025 randomized trial by the same group (Gardiner et al., 23 healthy young men) found that 100 mg had no significant effect on sleep even when taken 4 hours before bed, which leaves about 57 mg at bedtime. That is the lenient column.

The conservative column uses 50 mg, the bedtime target of every calculator on this site, so the table and the calculators always agree. It is our modelling choice, not a published threshold, and it sits between the two studies. If you follow the stricter 2023 reading (about 33 mg), finish each drink about 3 hours earlier than the conservative time at average metabolism.

The label is not the dose

Researchers at the University of Florida bought the same 16 oz Starbucks Breakfast Blend from one store on six consecutive days and measured between 259 and 564 mg of caffeine per cup; the decaf coffees they tested all had less than 18 mg (McCusker, Goldberger & Cone 2003). Starbucks itself lists brewed coffee as a range (315–390 mg for a grande). Where a brand gives a range, the table uses its lower figure and shows the range; the higher figure would move the time earlier.

Where the caffeine figures come from

Each figure was read on the brand's own nutrition or product page or, for generic coffee and tea, in USDA FoodData Central, and every row links to its source with the date it was checked. We do not copy figures from third-party caffeine databases. Brands reformulate, so a figure can change after the date shown in its row. Sources used: Red Bull, Monster Energy, CELSIUS, Alani Nu, Bang Energy, The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper Product Facts, Starbucks menu nutrition, USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy).