Rule of thumb · HealthNº 106 / 242

Caffeine halves about every five hours, so a coffee at 3 pm is still about half in you at 8 pm

How long does caffeine stay in my body?

Caffeine halves about every five hours: a coffee at 3 pm is still about half in you at 8 pm, a quarter at 1 am and an eighth at 6 am.

Why it works

The body clears a fixed share of the caffeine each hour, so the amount falls by half over each half-life of about 5 hours. After 5 hours 51 percent of a dose is left (a little over half, because some was still being absorbed), after 10 hours 26 percent and after 15 hours 13 percent.

When it fails

The half-life is anywhere from about 2 to 8 hours in a healthy adult: smoking shortens it, and the contraceptive pill and pregnancy lengthen it, to as much as 16 hours late in pregnancy. A drink also takes about 45 minutes to reach its peak, so the amount in you is still rising for the first hour.

Do it exactly

Estimate with the rule, then check it against the calculator that models it properly.

Open Caffeine Curve →

More in Health

← PreviousAtom economy is the mass of the wanted product over the mass of all the reactants, fixed by the equation Next →Take your last caffeine about eight hours before bed: a third of it is still in you

Browse the full Rulebook →

Rules of thumb are approximations, offered to get you to the right order of magnitude fast. Check anything load-bearing against its source or the exact tool. Privacy · Terms

© 2026 Rules of Thumb · Runs entirely in your browser