People who drink cups of tea after 3pm urged to 'stop'

A sleep expert has warned Brits to avoid drinking tea after 3pm. Brits drink approximately 100 million cups daily, which is almost 36 billion per year and stats show 57% of tea drinkers add dairy milk, 10% add a plant milk, 27% add sugar and 12% use a low-calorie sweetener.

A warning from sleep expert Martin Seeley at MattressNextDay cautioned: "Cups of tea are consumed by many, as is tradition in the UK, whether they're made in vast quantities on the tea round in the office or offered to others as a gesture of goodwill and kindness for a pick me up.

"Tea contains amino acid L-theanine, which promotes relaxation - however, studies suggest that drinking drinks with caffeine in the six-hour period before bedtime can lead to a disturbed sleep. Even stopping your tea intake a few hours before bedtime is not enough to mitigate the sleep-preventing effects of the caffeine contained.

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"Avoid drinking tea from around 3pm to ensure sleep isn't affected." But the expert says you can still drink chamomile, lavender and more. L avender tea can effectively reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, which directly relate to insomnia, he said.

By stimulating brain activity and influencing impulse transmissions between brain cells, lavender has been found to produce a calming effect on your nervous system. Chamomile, meanwhile, has apigenin which creates a mild sedative effect, by binding to receptors in the brain.

These receptors are responsible for making you feel sleepy and reducing anxiety, so chamomile tea enhances this process. Chamomile also has anti-inflammatory properties, helping to minimise pain, stomach cramps or other conditions that might be keeping you up at night.

In terms of the largest tea producers in the world, China is top with 2,230,000 tonnes, India is second with 1,191,100 tonnes, Kenya third with 399,210 tonnes (2015 production).