caffeine cuts into sleep, even hours later

[Amby 490]

Add one more insult to the injury of working the night shift: Drinking coffee during work hours may just keep you awake during the day.

"Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant to counteract sleepiness, yet it has detrimental effects on the sleep of night-shift workers who must slumber during the day, just as their biological clock sends a strong wake-up signal," said Julie Carrier, a University of Montreal psychology professor. "The older you get, the more affected your sleep will be by coffee."

Carrier bases the claim on a small lab study, however, so more research would be needed to verify the results with a larger group and in a real-world setting.

The study involved 24 people split into two age groups: 20 to 30 years old, and 45 to 60. The participants spent two sleepless nights in lab rooms. Then, they were given either a caffeine pill or a placebo, so that they did not know if they'd had caffeine or not. Three hours later they were allowed to sleep.

All subjects who consumed caffeine pills had their sleep negatively affected, especially older participants who slept 50 percent less than usual. In both age groups, caffeine decreased sleep efficiency, sleep duration, slow-wave sleep (SWS) and REM sleep, the researchers said in a statement.

"We all know someone who claims to sleep like a baby after drinking an espresso, Carrier points out. "Although they may not notice it, their sleep will not be as deep and will likely be more perturbed."

Night-shift work is bad for health, other studies have found. The new study suggests everyone over age 40, and particularly night-shift workers, should reduce caffeine consumption.

The study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and other institutions, is detailed in the journal Sleep Medicine.

http://www.livescience.com/health/091103-caffeine-sleep.html

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

This took a study?

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I call BS. I drink about 12 cups a day, and am the sleepiest woman ever. So

[HAL 9000 96]

Again knowledge and science take their respective hits from the futuristic cast of Idiocracy. And no, its not Len nor Amby.

[HAL 9000 96]

But yes... caffeine has been suspected to wreak havoc on neuronal DNA, particularly in areas near the blood brain barrier. Not too far from one of these junctions is where the region that controls wakefulness and daily rhythms. But I guess everyone knew that.

[mawilson 2,133]

I call BS. I drink about 12 cups a day, and am the sleepiest woman ever. So

I second that

[Amby 490]

But yes... caffeine has been suspected to wreak havoc on neuronal DNA, particularly in areas near the blood brain barrier. Not too far from one of these junctions is where the region that controls wakefulness and daily rhythms. But I guess everyone knew that.

pineal?

[HAL 9000 96]

But yes... caffeine has been suspected to wreak havoc on neuronal DNA, particularly in areas near the blood brain barrier. Not too far from one of these junctions is where the region that controls wakefulness and daily rhythms. But I guess everyone knew that.

pineal?

I reckon you've been studying your neuro ey?

Yep, that's one of the two. Pineal Body Nucleus(PBN). The other is on the opposite side of the hypothalamus- the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN).

Maybe Len and Mark have fVcked their brains with too much caffeine to have made those regions go for bust.

Edited November 5, 2009 by HAL 9000

[Amby 490]

I did neuro last semester. Just wanted to see if I still remembered

The only reason Mark has to drink 12 cups of coffee is he needs them to recover from the very little sleep he got the night before because he was up late from the 12 cups of coffee he drank earlier in the day

[HAL 9000 96]

LOL... and not far away from the nuclei I pictured above are the places that get really messed up due to addictions and addictive behaviors. Nicotine and caffeine included.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I cut back fairly drastically on my caffeine intake over the last couple of years - now instead of a half dozen cups a day, I have one large coffee in the morning and perhaps one or two cups of tea after dinner. I still have sleep problems - but the only thing I've found that helps with that is exercise.

Caffeine doesn't just keep you awake - it makes you look older.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I cut back fairly drastically on my caffeine intake over the last couple of years - now instead of a half dozen cups a day, I have one large coffee in the morning and perhaps one or two cups of tea after dinner. I still have sleep problems - but the only thing I've found that helps with that is exercise.

Caffeine doesn't just keep you awake - it makes you look older.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I saw it on a BBC diet show recently - the nutritionist said that caffeine consumption causes premature aging of the skin - and the more you drink, the worse it is.

[Amby 490]

I saw it on a BBC diet show recently - the nutritionist said that caffeine consumption causes premature aging of the skin - and the more you drink, the worse it is.

I believe it. I will try to find something about it so Len stops drinking so much

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I saw it on a BBC diet show recently - the nutritionist said that caffeine consumption causes premature aging of the skin - and the more you drink, the worse it is.

you are evil