Coffee Cutoff Time for a 1 AM Bedtime
For a 1 AM bedtime and an average metabolism, your last regular coffee should be around 8:22 PM. Bigger drinks need an earlier cutoff — here’s the breakdown, and a calculator tuned to you.
Latest safe time by drink
Assuming you start the evening with little caffeine left and want under ~50 mg on board at 1 AM (an average ~5-hour half-life):
| If you have… | Caffeine | Have it by |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup of coffee | 95 mg | 8:22 PM |
| A large coffee | 150 mg | 5:05 PM |
| 2 cups / a strong cup | 200 mg | 3:00 PM |
| An energy drink | 160 mg | 4:37 PM |
These are guides, not guarantees — a slow metabolizer should subtract 2–3 hours, a fast one can add them back. The calculator below uses your real numbers.
Your 1 AM cutoff
Drink
You drink it at
Bedtime
Coffee · 95 mg · assuming an average ~5 h half-life
At bedtime
24 mg
close to optimal
Latest safe Coffee: 8:22 PM
Going to bed earlier or later?
Every hour earlier roughly halves the caffeine you can safely have; an hour later nearly doubles it. Change the bedtime above to see your exact cutoff for any night.