Chocolate contains caffeine, so having it affect you is not surprising if you're a slow caffeine metabolizer.

Yes, that has happened to me. I don't eat any chocolate after lunch time.

I don't drink any caffinated beverages after noon but a square of dark chocolate is often a bed time snack for me and doesn't intererfere with my sleep.

No, also drink coffee late into the night. Doesn't bother me.

I'm not a big chocolate eater but when I do, it would be late evening/nighttime. I have never noticed any unwanted effects. But then caffeine doesn't seem to bother me - I enjoy coffee at any time of day and drink iced tea right up until bedtime.

Yes! Mainly dark chocolate, not so much milk chocolate.

And I very much wish it didn't.

Uh-oh. I have a few Kisses and Hugs while we watch a movie. And a glass of wine. I fall asleep easily but if the wine is too late, I wake up at 2. I think the wine is the culprit, not the chocolate.

This is an easy to read article about the various compounds in chocolate and how they wake you up or put you to sleep. https://cocoarunners.com/2020/07/does-chocolate-help-you-sleep/

I had to quit caffeine for other reasons half a lifetime ago. When I was young it didn't affect my sleep, though I think it might have given me cravings to go out to lunch. I am so off caffeine that a cup of weak tea before 4:00 p.m. will keep me allert and awake all night. I can eat a square or four of very dark chocolate late in the evening and perk up (I'm guessing as much because of the sugar, even though it's not much—but then neither is the caffeine). An hour later, the effect will have worn off and I'll be sleepier than before (probably about the saame sleepiness as without eating anything). If it's not super dark, chocolate, itself, doesn't affect me that way, and it would be what else it's with (nuts? sugar? candy shell?) that would be the issue.

For years after I gave up caffeine, the taste of caffeine free Diet Coke would perk me up (I wonder if that expression comes from percolator?) in a basic Pavlovian response. Expectation is a marvelous thing...

I drink a lot of coffee but it has no affect on me. But one piece of chocolate and I'm awake for hours. I make sure I don't have anything sweet after 6pm.

My cut off for caffeine is 4 pm and that includes chocolate.

My cut off for coffee is 5pm and chocolate can be a little later but not much. I only eat dark chocolate and this problem with it is quite new and I don't like it.

Glenda - I have never thought of peanut butter before bedtime if I'm hungry. It has some protein and fat so sounds like a good idea. It is very seldom that I am hungry at bedtime and so much so that I have to have a little something or I will never sleep. I'm going to try the peanut butter next time. I usually just grab some cheese which is probably about the same.

My cutoff for coffee/caffeine is 12-1 pm 😃

Been lying awake for over three hours now, after waking up on the sofa. Had some Milano cookies en route to bed. Hmmm. Just went to the kitchen for a big spoonful of peanut butter. Wish me luck.

Yes

I don’t know since I don’t recall a time when I ate chocolate in the evening. We very rarely have any in the house. But I very much doubt it would make any difference.

I only drink decaf coffee and decaf tea. I have a terrible time sleeping in general. But I do love chocolate. The caffeine can keep me awake at night, and so can the GERD that chocolate can cause, so if I eat it, it's usually with lunch, not after dinner.

My husband serves us English tea before bed. Black tea is full of caffeine...and it doesn't bother either of us. I try not to eat anything with calories after 6pm.

Did the pb WORK? :o)

My taste buds rejoice when chocolate appears at any hour of the day or night, with no apparent effect on my capacity to sleep.

ole joyful

Nothing keeps me awake. I can make a pot of espresso and drink the whole thing and fall asleep. Having had caffeine in my diet literally my entire life, it doesn't affect me at all.

Deb_Ab - You do not know how lucky you are. A lot of things keep me awake, especially caffeine.

dedtired - My cut off time is around noon.

Glenda - I hope to try your peanut butter cure soon. Thank you.

FOAS - Those cookies are killers.

who really knows what it is that keeps me awake? But for sure that 70% Cacoa chocolate is a large is part of it....also a lot of sugar or alcohol will cause me a low blood sugar rebound that wakes me.

I used to drink about 10 cups of coffee daily and had no trouble sleeping uinless I had more, like an evening meeting where we sat around a table, discussed ( and smoked) and drank coffee. Alas....no more!

Oh yes, exposure to caffeine makes a difference. We had a long day at the fair yesterday and that was after a night of little sleep for me. I was concerned about the long drive home so I had a cup of regular coffee before we left and I was wide awake the whole way. If I was a regular caffeine consumer though, it wouldn't have that effect. So from that point of view, it's helpful to have a tool like that. Also, more recent studies on the benefits of drinking coffee say it doesn't need to be caffeinated to work.