D8| Saturday/Sunday, March 28 - 29, 2020 **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
E
VERYONE IScaffein-
ated,” said Michael Pol-
lan, author of the Audi-
ble Original audio book
“Caffeine,” released at
the end of January. “Until you get off
caffeine, you don’t realize how uni-
versal that state is.” Well known as a
writer on food and botany, Mr. Pollan
explored the ways plants and drugs
alter consciousness and behavior in
his 2018 book “How to Change Your
Mind: What the New Science of Psy-
chedelics Teaches Us About Con-
sciousness, Dying, Addiction, De-
pression, and Transcendence.” His
new audio book zooms in on a drug
so ubiquitous, many people don’t
conceive of it as such—even though
its effects on the way they sleep, or
struggle to, are profound.
For research purposes, Mr. Pol-
lan embarked on a 3-month caf-
feine fast. In “Caffeine” he de-
scribes feeling “out of tune with
the rest of civilization” as a result,
not as sharp, less focused. But
there were upsides, too. “After a
couple days, I was sleeping like a
teenager again,” he tells listeners.
“It was the only upside I could see,
and it was a big one. It was won-
derful to have these deep, dream-
filled sleeps.” Recently, Mr. Pollan
took a pause from his morning
routine in Berkeley, Calif., to share
his hard-won wisdom on cultivat-
ing deeper sleep.
of wine isn’t a problem, but if I have
more than two glasses, I’m more
likely to wake up and less likely to
wake up [in the morning] feeling
sharp. If caffeine messes with Slow
Wave Sleep, alcohol seems to mess
with our REM sleep, when we do the
most dreaming.
But my morning coffee is such a key
part of my day.It’s everything: the
smell, the ritual. It’s not just the
[caffeine] molecule. Those ceremo-
nies we have around coffee are won-
derful. During the 3 months I was
off caffeine, I would get my chamo-
mile tea, but I didn’t feel like I was
part of the coffee culture.
Are there similarities between psy-
chedelics and caffeine?I felt there
was when I had that first dose after
being off for 3 months. It was pretty
psychedelic. Not that I hallucinated,
but I felt a radical shift in conscious-
ness and substantially different than
I had a half-hour before. It was eu-
phoric, a surge of well-being.
What are your favorite ways to get
your caffeine?Coffee and green tea.
I usually drink green tea while I’m
working, which is a very even caf-
feine experience—you don’t see that
bell curve. I’ll have a cup of half-caff
after that. Chocolate is another
wonderful delivery system for caf-
feine and other alkalides.
What’s your favorite food to pair
with your tea or coffee?In an earlier
life, a croissant and a cup of coffee
was my idea of heaven, but I’m not
eating croissants these days.
My ideal pairing now might be
coffee with a small square of dark
chocolate.
Do you have any favorite decaf sub-
stitutes?I had a lot of chamomile
and peppermint during those 3
months. I also have herbs in my gar-
den. It’s so easy to take a handful of
How does caffeine affect our
sleep?It appears to take its toll on
Slow Wave Sleep, this critical brief
period of deep sleep that we need
to reset our brains for the next day
and to resynchronize everything.
If caffeine is sleep’s enemy, what
are sleep’s friends?Quiet. Cold—the
lower our body temperature, the
better we sleep. The absence of
screens and stress. Sleep has many
friends. Unfortunately, they’re just
not present or available these days
to most of us.
How did ‘sleeping like a teenager’
affect your waking life?Ifyouhavea
good night’s sleep, you often have a
better day. Even the nights that my
Oura Ring [a smart device tracking
sleep quality] told me I had a crappy
night’s sleep, I’d wake up feeling
great. I’m not sure how reliable the
data was, but my anecdotal report on
a good night’s sleep generally fore-
told a good day. Data be damned.
Do you find that wine or any alcohol
affects your sleep?A small amount
‘It was wonderful
to have these deep,
dream-filled sleeps.’
mint and any lemony herb like
lemon verbena or lemon balm and
pour boiling water over it.
Yea or nay on CBD as a sleep aid?I
don’t have a big sleep problem but if
I did, I would certainly try it. I know
people who swear by it, but they
also swear by other cannabis prod-
ucts, which are legal here in Califor-
nia. Knock on wood, I haven’t had to
explore that yet.
—Edited from an interview
by Eleanore Park
HENRY FLORES (PHOTO ILLUSTRATION); ALEX LAU FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FOOD STYLING BY PEARL JONES, PROP STYLING BY VANESSA VAZQUEZ (COOKIES); F. MA
RTIN RAMIN/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, STYLING BY ANNE CARDENAS (COFFEE, SODA)
GGET Los Ídolos, Colombia De-
cafThese beans from Los Ange-
les roaster Go Get Em Tiger
(GGET) have a full-bodied, cara-
mel profile that becomes more
pronounced as your beverage
cools. They’re a nice choice for a
pour-over or a drip coffee to
drink black, and versatile enough
to brew espresso-style for a
shot or a cappuccino.$20 for 12
ounces, gget.com
Devoción DecafThe decaffein-
ated coffee from Bogotá- and
Brooklyn-based Devoción deliv-
ers complexity on par with the
third-wave outfit’s caffeinated of-
ferings. Thanks to a gentle caffeine
extraction that avoids excessive
heat and pressure, this coffee
pleasantly surprises with a fruity
and slightly floral nose and a
smooth, chocolaty finish.$18 for 12
ounces, devocion.com
Slow Brew
Decaffeinated coffees
for the discerning
THE OFF DUTY SLEEP ISSUE | EATING & DRINKING
My first trip to Australia was
the first time I flew business
class on an international
flight—which meant that it
was the first time I had a seat
thatconvertedtoaflatbed,a
game-changer for me. On the
connecting flight from Los
Angeles to Sydney I popped
an Ambien, and I literally
woke up in Sydney 14 hours
later. It remains my bench-
mark for sleep.
My Best Sleep Ever
DAVID CHANG
Chef and
author, with
Gabe Ulla, of
‘Eat a Peach:
A Memoir’
(May 19, Clark-
son Potter)
The author of ‘Caffeine’ offers tips and truths on our abiding addiction and how it shanghais our shut-eye
Consult a Slumber Sage
21
erol Spritzes—minus the
booze.“Iwantedtomakea
soft drink that felt pleasur-
able but not overly indul-
gent,” said founder Jason
LaValla. Flavors range from
fruity and spicy to lemony
and herbal, but they are all
bold, botanical and decid-
edly grown up.$36 for case
of 12, casamaraclub.com
Though a nightcap sounds
relaxing, alcohol imbibed too
late in the evening can actu-
ally get in the way of a good
night’s sleep. (See “Dine,
Drink, Drowse,” page D6.)
Opt instead for Casamara
Club’s nonalcoholic soft
drinks, inspired by deli-
ciously bitter Italian bever-
ages like Negronis and Ap-
Say Cin-Cin and Buona Notte
22
Is there any ritual more
soothing than milk and
cookies? In Ayurvedic
medicine, nutmeg pro-
motes sleep, and these
brown-butter cookies con-
tain a healthy dash. Fool-
proof and free of extrane-
ous ingredients, they are
equanimity itself.
Nutmeg Dreamers
Preheat oven to 250 de-
grees.//In a saucepan over
medium heat, melt1 cup
butterand cook until dark
gold, about 5 minutes. Let
cool slightly, about 3 min-
utes.//In a food processor,
combine^3 / 4 cup sugar, 1^1 / 2
teaspoons vanilla extract,
(^1) / 4 packed teaspoon freshly
grated nutmeg, 1 tea-
spoon baking powderand
2 cups flour. With motor
running, pour in melted
butter and continue to pro-
cess until butter is fully in-
tegrated.//Roll dough into
balls about 1 inch in diame-
ter. Place on a parchment-
lined baking sheet and
bake 30 minutes. Let cool
on baking sheet before
moving, as cookies are
fragile when still warm.
Add a Pinch
Of Tranquility
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